BENGALURU: Expressing disappointment over the recent statements of Minister K J George that “people who own private jets oppose the steel flyover”, members of Citizen for Bengaluru demanded that the government withdraw all cases in National Green Tribunal and high Court immediately, and stop wasting public money fighting for a project that the public does not want.
However, they welcomed the state government’s move to bring suburban train service to Bengaluru. Naresh Narasimhan, architect and member of CfB said, “We welcome the reports about plans to build alternative roads to the airport. Since the railway line is practically next to the Airport Trumpet, we call for a Trumpet Halt station (similar to Hoodi halt) and train services from all economic hubs of the city to the airport.”
Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, another CfB member, said, “The point is that the availability of train and alternative roads to the airport completely eliminates any argument for this hideous and expensive steel flyover.”
Raising issues in the BDA masterplan, Naresh Narasimhan said the ongoing public debate on the Revised Master Plan 2031 is an excellent opportunity for the state government to address opposition to RMP 2031.
He added, “The government should make a sincere attempt to design a sustainable, livable city going by the constitutionally mandated means envisaged under the 74th Amendment. We reject the present RMP 2031 because it has bypassed the duly constituted Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee and fixed a population projection in excess of two crores, which is completely against the logic on the ground.”
“With the constitution of the BMPC, BDA should stop planning for the city and hand it over to the new planning body. We believe the BDA must not be entrusted with planning function and RMP must be developed by the BMPC with a bottom-up approach that brings citizens - the less privileged especially - civic groups and experts into the planning process right from the beginning and not at end as it is doing with RMP 203,” he added.