BENGALURU: Despite a section of residents in Hebbagodi demanding that ‘Biocon Hebbagodi’ Metro station be called only Hebbagodi station, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said on Wednesday that knocking the company from the name was out of the question.
Members of the Hebbagodi Municipal Council staged a massive protest on Tuesday claiming that BMRCL had taken a unilateral decision on the name without the consent of the localities. They insisted they would protest until Biocon was taken out of the station’s name.
When asked about a possible nomenclature change in light of this opposition, BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parwez said the area name is reflected in the station with just a prefix added to it. “This falls under the ‘Naming Rights’ policy of BMRCL which has been okayed by the government.
Any organisation which pays Rs 65 crore towards any station gets the right to have the station named after it for 30 years. This is a move towards mobilising private funding for Metro works and reducing the burden on the government.” Referring to past instances at BMRCL on a similar rule being followed, the MD specified the names of Infosys Electronics City and Embassy Bettahalasur.
It was not merely Bengaluru Metro, many other Metro networks in the country, including Mumbai and Delhi Metro, too followed this policy. Pointing out that BMRCL had already entered into an agreement with Biocon over the name, the MD said, “Biocon has made a commendable contribution towards Metro. It has funded Rs 70 crore for the Hebbagodi station apart from giving land worth Rs 30 crore free of cost to BMRCL.”