The Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) has raised serious concerns over the proposal for a 15-km north–south tunnel road corridor in Bengaluru and has recommended the civic body undertake a fresh feasibility study before moving ahead with the multi-thousand-crore-rupees project. The review, submitted to the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA), noted that the tunnel project in its current form did not align with the city’s Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP 2020), the BBMP Climate Action Plan, or the National Urban Transport Policy. All three prioritised public transport and sustainable mobility over infrastructure for private vehicles, A Technical Review of the Feasibility Study Report of North-South Corridor in Bengaluru said. Among the key concerns raised by the review, submitted to the government in April this year, noted that the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike or BBMP (now the Greater Bengaluru Authority) had failed to conduct essential origin–destination surveys and turning movement counts, making it impossible to accurately estimate demand or assess the impact on surface-level junctions. It highlighted potential congestion points at the proposed entry and exit ramps for the tunnel at Jayamahal Road, 8th Main Road of Sadashivanagar, Basaveshwara Circle, KR Circle, and Corporation Circle. The review also highlighted that the tunnel road overlapped with other projects and was in conflict with ongoing and planned infrastructure, such as Bengaluru Metro’s phases 2, 3, and 3A, apart from the suburban rail project. It also flagged the absence of detailed studies on seismic vulnerabilities, groundwater impacts, and ecological risks along the alignment of the proposed project. Instead of a single mega-tunnel, the report suggested exploring "shorter, strategic tunnel alignments" to ease congestion at critical choke points such as Goruguntepalya, KR Puram–Benniganahalli, and Central Silk Board–JD Mara junctions. Highlighting several instances of inadequate or improper data in the feasibility report, the review said the report did not take into account the cost of land acquisition for the entry and exit ramps of the project coming up in central areas of the city. ".. the feasibility report of BBMP does not take into account cost of land acquisition, cost of ITS (for management and enforcement of movement of vehicles in the tunnel), costs for traffic mitigation measures at surface level junctions/roads, costs for implementation of ecological measures etc. A comprehensive cost calculation must be carried out," the review said. Earlier this year, the BMLTA had flagged various concerns related to the tunnel road project.
