BBMP withdraws feasibility report on Bengaluru tunnel road and elevated corridors?

The note states: “…Draft reports may be withdrawn. We thank all stakeholders and residents of Bengaluru for their reviews and feedback on the Draft Final Reports… We highly appreciate your inputs and have instructed the consultants responsible for preparing the Feasibility Report and the draft DPR to incorporate the changes in line with the comments received.”

The final feasibility report, prepared by Turkey-based Altinok Consulting at a cost of Rs 4.7 crore, was published on BBMP’s website on December 20, 2024. It proposed a 170-km network of tunnels, double-decker tunnels, elevated corridors, and underpasses to ease Bengaluru’s traffic congestion. However, the report faced widespread criticism for its “unscientific approach” and perceived violation of sustainable transportation principles. On January 10, 2025, BBMP withdrew the report. Critics also pointed out that, despite this withdrawal, BBMP invited bids for a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the East-West (KR Puram to Nayandahalli) tunnel road project on January 25, raising questions about the agency’s intentions.

B S Prahalad, Engineer-in-Chief, BBMP, clarified to The Indian Express: “What was withdrawn is the draft feasibility report, not the final one. The note refers to the withdrawal of the draft report, which was made public before the final version was published on December 20, 2024. Based on public feedback, we released the final feasibility report and floated tenders for DPR preparation for the elevated corridors and East-West tunnel road project.”

He added that an expert committee, chaired by Hega Reddy, Executive Director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), is being formed to review the DPR for the North-South (Hebbal to Silkboard) tunnel road project before finalisation.

Civic groups and urban mobility experts, however, argued that BBMP has exposed its blunders once again by referring to the final feasibility report as a “draft”.

Satya Arikutharam, an urban mobility expert, remarked: “The note thanks stakeholders, withdraws draft reports, and says consultants will incorporate feedback. Logically, this suggests the tunnel road proposal is dropped, as citizens favour public transport. The reference to the ‘draft’ report seems erroneous, given the final report was published in December 2024. I expect the consultants to affirm that public transport outperforms these proposals, as indicated in their own draft.”

“The real scam isn’t the Rs 1 lakh crore budget for unfeasible projects, but pre-project works where dubious consultants earn Rs 10-50 crore per announcement via studies and reports, fleecing Rs 500-1,000 crore across 10 projects. While citizens protest, cunning folks milk the exchequer. This racket, evident since the Steel Flyover, needs close investigation,” said Sandeep Anirudhan, Convenor of Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru.

Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan said on X, “BBMP claims it will reflect public comments on tunnel roads. Bengaluru’s citizens have called for the project to be dropped. If BBMP is serious about listening, it should cancel it. Who’s accountable for the ₹14.2 crore already spent on the DPR?”

BBMP has faced backlash from citizens for an alleged ‘copy-paste’ job for preparing DPR for the north-south tunnel project connecting Hebbal and Silkboard junction. The DPR prepared at a cost of Rs 9.5 crore contained ‘compiling errors’ that resulted in the civic agency slapping a penalty of Rs 5 lakh against Rodic Consultants, the firm that prepared the DPR.