BENGALURU: The Rs 6,900-crore Bommasandra-Hosur Metro project proposed by Chennai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (CMRL) will have five stations in Karnataka and seven in Tamil Nadu. A detailed feasibility report on the 23-km elevated metro line (12km in Karnataka and 11km in TN) was presented by a team from CMRL to officials of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Tuesday.
However, there seems to be resistance from Karnataka to the project as Hosur will emerge as a competitor to the business interests of Bengaluru.
With Tamil Nadu also planning an airport in Hosur, which is likely to attract flyers from South Bengaluru, metro connectivity with Bengaluru will be a windfall for Hosur.
From Bommasandra, the Yellow Line of Namma Metro links RV Road with an interchange with the Airport Line (Blue Line) at Central Silk Board.
The line will also touch suburban rail and bus depots en route. BMRCL initiated a project on its own on July 9 to extend the Bommasandra line to Attibele.
Got positive response from BMRCL: Official
Aarvee Associates Architects Engineer and Consultants Pvt Limited is conducting a feasibility study that may take six months to complete. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has directed the Tamil Nadu government to prepare a feasibility report. “The feasibility report was supposed to be prepared by BMRCL initially. However, with Tamil Nadu showing keen interest in the project, Bengaluru Metro did not go ahead with it. MoHUA has now asked Tamil Nadu to prepare the feasibility report,” sources told TNIE.
“Hosur is just 39km from Bengaluru. With good roads and less traffic compared to Bengaluru, the metro connectivity will further boost the economic prospects of Hosur. Bengaluru will face a tough competition from Hosur,” a source told TNIE.
On the possibility of Karnataka opposing it, a source in Chennai said, “We are aware of the political and economic implications of the project. Hence, we approached MoHUA, which is the parent body for all Metro rail networks in the country, and asked it to get involved at the initial stage of the project.”
T Archunan, Director (Projects), CMRCL, said, “We received a positive response from BMRCL for our presentation. BMRCL will discuss it with the Karnataka government. After they give us the nod, we will go ahead with the DPR.”
On the project cost and funding, Archunan said, “It would be Rs 300 crore per km. We will fund the stations to be built in our state (seven). BMRCL should take care of the stations within its limits.”
He said the project will benefit both TN and Karnataka as Bengaluru is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.
“We planned only a 20-km line initially with Hosur bus terminal being the terminating station. Since it would become congested, we decided to extend it by three more km up to Elcot IT Park,” he said.
Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar was not reachable for his comments.