BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar said the state government will acquire land in Hebbal for the proposed tunnel road project. He was speaking to the media after a meeting with Industries Minister M B Patil at Vidhana Soudha on Monday.
“Hebbal is an important junction, and there is a need for both Metro and tunnel road. We will acquire the necessary land for the project. We have also discussed the civil and military land required. Landowners will be compensated through Transferable Development Rights (TDR) and Floor Area Ratio (FAR). We need to call for tenders for the tunnel road, and today’s meeting was a preparatory step for the project,” he said.
The tunnel road project, comprising two main corridors, the North-South Corridor from Esteem Mall in Hebbal to Central Silk Board and the East-West Corridor from K R Puram to Mysuru Road, is estimated to cost around Rs 42,000 crore.
The state government has also proposed a collaboration with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to link the tunnel road to NH-7 and NH-14.
Under the first phase of the tunnel road project, proposed between Hebbal and Central Silk Board, covering a stretch of 18 km, the cost is expected to be around Rs 17,000 crores. The project will have three entry and three exit points. The state government has also decided to raise a loan of Rs 19,000 crores and has assured a guarantee for the total tunnel project.
The project is being spearheaded by the Deputy Chief Minister as a measure to decongest the city traffic. In addition to the tunnel roads project, a Double Decker Flyover and Peripheral Ring Road have also been announced in the state budget for the big infrastructure push for Bengaluru.
To prioritise infrastructure in the City, the state government has increased the grant from Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000 and has planned to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for fund utilisation and implementation of development projects.