In a break from the Congress government’s recent practice of staying away from the annual NITI Aayog governing council meetings, Karnataka’s new chief minister, D K Shivakumar, will attend the 11th annual meeting, to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in New Delhi.
Shivakumar, who has been in Delhi over the last two days, said on Wednesday night that he was trying to meet Modi and would attend the NITI Aayog meeting as well. “I am participating in the NITI Aayog meeting. The PM had posted a congratulatory message on social media soon after I became the CM and he has said that he will extend full cooperation. We will work together,” he said.
In 2024 then CM Siddaramaiah boycotted the NITI Aayog governing council meeting as a mark of protest against the alleged neglect of the state in the Union budget. “We don’t feel Kannadigas are heard, and hence there is no point in attending the NITI Aayog meeting,” Siddaramaiah had said on social media.
Last year, the CM did not attend the NITI Aayog council meeting, but his speech was read out. It spoke about a roadmap for establishing Karnataka as a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles and its allied industries.
“I will be participating in the NITI Aayog meeting and presenting my case there in the larger interest of the state. I will be delivering a speech there also. I know what Karnataka needs because the world is looking at India through Bangalore, and that is what I am going to speak about. It is a place where people are coming after Delhi and Mumbai,” Shivakumar said. “There is a talent pool, and there is a need to create infrastructure in Karnataka for all sections, not just for urban mobility, but we also need to look at agriculture.”
Shivakumar said he had sought an appointment with Modi and senior ministers during his New Delhi visit. “Whoever gives me time, I will meet. I have sought time from the PM and will get an update and inform the media,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Shivakumar met Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar and sought clearances for Rs 13,549-crore funds for pending Bengaluru infrastructure projects under the Urban Challenge Fund announced in the new 2026 budget.
“I came to Delhi to pay respect to my leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi. I had a meeting with Khattar sab also. There are a lot of projects concerning Bengaluru and the Urban Challenge Fund, and I made a representation to him. We have raised a lot of issues concerning long-pending projects with the central government,” he said.
Urban Challenge Fund sought for three projects
The projects that the new Karnataka CM has sought clearances for are a Rs 6287-crore elevated corridor project with 20 per cent funding of Rs 1,257 crore under the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF); a new Rs 1,350-crore sewage treatment plant with 25 per cent UCF of Rs 337 crore; and two peripheral ring road packages worth Rs 3,893 crore and Rs 2,019 crore with a UCF component of 20 per cent each at Rs 778 crore and Rs 403 crore, respectively.
The peripheral ring road project is Shivakumar’s pet project; he had revived it as the Bengaluru Business Corridor project when he was the deputy CM in charge of Bengaluru development. The rising land value around the corridor is expected to yield big profits for real estate firms invested in the region.
“Out of these proposed projects, the National Apex Committee in its 1st Meeting has approved the project by name Construction of 6 STPs at Madiwala, Bellandur, Kadubeesanahalli, Koramangala, Byramangala and Mylasandra with a project cost of Rs 1,350.000 crore with committed Central Assistance of Rs. 337.50 crore,” Shivakumar said in a representation to Manohar Lal Khattar.
“The Central Team of UCF has visited the sites and obtained detailed information regarding other projects. The details of the remaining schemes for which sanction is being sought are enclosed in Appendix. I would like to request you to instruct the concerned to expedite the process of approving other projects with the committed Central Assistance as requested by the State of Karnataka,” Shivakumar said in his letter to Khattar.
Approvals sought for new phases of Bengaluru Metro
The Karnataka CM has also sought approvals for phase 3 of the Bengaluru Metro project with a double-decker flyover that has been called into question by the central government.
“Phase-3 of BMRCL project covering 44.65 Kms (Fully elevated) was approved by GoI on 13.09.2024. Parallelly, the GoK decided to construct Metro as a Double Decker structure i.e., road flyover at level-1 and Metro viaduct at level-2 for 37.121 Kms at a cost of Rs. 9,700 crore, to be fully borne by GoK,” Shivakumar wrote in his letter to the Union minister.
“Since there is already a delay of about 2 years from the GoI sanction, it is requested that GoI allow BMRCL to go ahead with the Double Decker arrangement with the Metro alignment, considering the heavy traffic congestion in Bangalore,” the Karnataka CM said.
The Karnataka CM has also sought assistance with the revised cost for the completion of phase 2 of the Bengaluru Metro project, which was initially cleared in 2014 for an estimated cost of Rs 26,405.14 crore for five years of work for the 72 km line with 61 stations.
“The revised completion cost of Phase-2 has been assessed which is estimated at Rs. 40,425.02 crore as against the GoI approved cost of Rs. 26,405.14 crore i.e., an increase of Rs.14,019.88 crore including additional land cost already approved by GOK of Rs.4,289.98 crore. The net increase excluding cost of land is Rs. 9,729.90 crore,” Shivakumar stated in the letter, adding that the approval of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) was sought on June 9, 2025.
The Karnataka CM has also sought approval for Phase 3A of the Bengaluru Metro from Sarjapur to Hebbal, spanning 37 km (underground 14.28 km and elevated 23.52 km).
“The project was approved by GoK on 10.01.2025 and submitted to MoHUA, GoI on 15.01.2025. As per the directions of MoHUA, the DPR has been revised and re-submitted on 29.04.2026 at a cost of Rs. 25,999.00 crore. Requested for early approval of GoI,” he stated.
In addition, the Karnataka CM has sought approvals for “implementation of Regional Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) from Bangalore to Mysore, Bangalore to Kanakapura, Bangalore to Tumkuru, Bangalore to Chikkaballapura, and Bangalore to Kolar on the lines of similar system approved from Delhi / NCR Region to nearby cities”.
D K Shivakumar said Gruha Lakshmi and Gruha Jyoti are the pride of the Congress government. (File Photo) 
Share
