Karnataka Deputy CM Shivakumar meets Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeks funds for tunnel road, Bengaluru metro projects

“Bengaluru city is facing severe traffic congestion and hence a 60-km tunnel project is being planned to ease traffic flow in the North-South corridor and East-West Corridor. At Rs 500 crore per km, the total cost of the tunnel project is estimated to be Rs 30,000 crore,” he stated in the letter.

The project, however, has not been welcomed by mobility experts and experts from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, who feel that construction of tunnel roads will only encourage people to use more private vehicles leading to a further increase in traffic volume.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar has called Expression of Interest (EoI) from various road engineering and construction firms to submit their proposals on the project. “Bengaluru roads can no longer be expanded because of buildings and other infrastructure works in progress. We also cannot stop people from buying private cars. Hence, the solution to decongest roads in the city is by constructing a tunnel road that can enable seamless travel,” Shivakumar had said.

With the state government giving approval for the Metro project connecting Hebbal and Sarjapur and plans of extending the Metro service to Bidadi, Shivakumar sought the approval of the Central government for the same as per the extension plan prepared by Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).

Further, the letter also sought the Finance Ministry’s approval and assistance for a proposal the state government has submitted to the World Bank seeking a financial aid of Rs 3,000 crore to develop flood mitigation infrastructure in Bengaluru city.

Seeks nod for Mekedatu detailed project report

The letter also sought Nirmala Sitharaman’s intervention in obtaining the approval of the Water Resources Ministry for the detailed project report on the Mekedatu project.

Mekedatu project envisages building a 67 TMC dam across river Cauvery with the objective of having a buffer stock, producing electricity and providing drinking water to Bengaluru city. The feasibility report of the project has received the nod from the Central Water Commission. The detailed project report was submitted in 2019 but is yet to get approved by the Water Resources Ministry.

Shivakumar also requested for an intervention in getting a Gazette notification for the third phase of Upper Krishna project, a lifeline for the North Karnataka region. The Krishna Water Tribunal 2 had passed an order in 2010 allowing Karnataka to use 173 TMC from the Krishna basin.

The third phase of the Upper Krishna project provides for usage of 130 TMC of water. This project is estimated to irrigate 5.94 lakh hectares in Vijayapura, Bagalkote, Kalaburgi, Raichur, Yadgir and Koppal districts. Though the Rs 16,900-crore project was cleared by the Krishna Water Tribunal a decade ago, it is yet to be notified in the Gazette, leading to water accessibility crisis in the region.

The letter also stressed on the immediate release of Rs 5,300 crore of Central funds for the Upper Bhadra project as announced in the previous Union Budget. The central government had declared the Upper Bhadra project a national project and allocated Rs 5,300 crore in the 2023-24 budget. The letter stated that the delay in release of funds is hampering the progress of the project that is estimated to irrigate 2.25 lakh hectares in Chikmagalur, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Davanagere districts.

The letter urged minister Sitharaman to help get environmental clearance from the Centre for the Kalasa Bhanduri project.

The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal had, in its 2018 order, allocated 1.72 TMC for Kalasa and 2.18 TMC for Bhanduri drinking water projects. The detailed project report was accepted by the Central Water Commission.

In addition, the letter also sought Central funds to the tune of Rs 9,177.32 crore for the Yettinahole project to meet drinking water needs of Kolar, Chikkaballapura and Tumakuru districts. The total cost of the project is Rs 23,251 crore, of which the state government has already spent Rs 14,698 crore.