BENGALURU: After scrapping the Chalukya Circle-Hebbal steel flyover project, the state government is likely to drop two more steel bridge projects in Bengaluru: on JC Road and Shivananda Circle.
Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development) Mahendra Jain said a proposal to drop the projects is pending before the state government but the cabinet will take the call. Backlash from opposition parties, the public and NGOs is said to be the main reason behind the move.
Confirming this, a senior Congress leader said that if they push with the projects, allegations of kickbacks will follow. “For the Opposition, it is easy to accuse us without any proof.
But with Assembly election just one year away, why risk public wrath? This is a crucial year and anything will make an impact on voters. So we are planning to drop the projects,’’ he said.
Sources from the Urban Development Department, however, told Express that in order to decongest city traffic, there is a need for flyovers. As concrete flyovers take more time, it is not possible to take up construction work on busy roads. That is when the steel flyover concept came in as the structure can be fabricated outside and fitted on the road, reducing the construction time.
The steel bridge from Minerva Circle to Hudson Circle via JC Road was proposed in 2008 with an estimated cost of Rs 104 crore.
The 2.35-km project was finally approved last year at an estimated cost of Rs 138 crore. “We even finalised the bidder, Simplex Infrastructure Ltd,” said a BBMP engineer.
Similarly, the nearly 330-metre steel grade separator at Shivananda Circle with an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore too was approved by BBMP and hanging fire since September 2016. Both projects were awaiting government nod.