Karnataka Deputy Chief minister and state Congress chief D K Shivakumar took a dig at CM Siddaramaiah over his previous tenure in the post recently, saying he would not allow protests and criticism to stop projects, referring to the Rs 1,791 crore steel flyover project proposed for Bengaluru in 2016 by the then Congress government which was abandoned after rounds of citizens' protests. Shivakumar, who is also in-charge of the development of Bengaluru, said he would brush aside any protest on the way of ambitious plans to solve the city's traffic problems, ranging from long-distance underground tunnels, to flyovers and underpasses. Referring to the steel flyover project, Shivakumar said: “I wouldn't have backtracked but would have gone ahead with the project. I will make some decisions now as well. Let all those who want to oppose and protest get ready. They can protest as much as they want, but I will keep going forward." While the project saw public protests as it required the felling of over 800 trees, the BJP called it a "fund-raising" effort by the Congress for the 2018 polls. The project had been proposed by the Congress government first time in 2014, along a 7-km stretch leading from Bengaluru to Kempegowda International Airport Expressway, as a means of resolving regular peak hour traffic jams on the route. Then too, it was immediately put in the cold storage on account of political opposition and questions over its feasibility, but it was revived in 2016 by the state Cabinet. What was the cancelled steel flyover project in Bengaluru about? The Rs 1,791-crore, 6.72-km, six-lane steel flyover project was proposed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) under the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in 2016, to connect Basaveshwara Circle with Hebbal, and ease traffic leading to the city's airport. It was scheduled to be completed in 24 months, and be opened to traffic by 2018. The contract was to be awarded to L&T. As many as 2.68 lakh vehicles were expected to use the flyover every day. Why did the project run into trouble? One of the biggest concerns about the project was that it would involve the felling of 812 trees along the route. Another was the feasibility of the project, given the high cost of steel. Many critics felt it went completely against the grain of encouraging public transportation systems over private transport. One of the main causes of Bengaluru's regular traffic logjams is the fact that there are as many as 61 lakh registered vehicles in the city, with as many as 1,000 added every day. The average traffic speed in the city during peak hours is 9.2 km Moreover, over the years, Bengaluru's many flyovers have had limited success in ensuring smooth traffic flow. In fact, critics say some flyovers have only managed to move traffic clogs from one location to another. One of the strongest critics of the steel flyover project was the Namma Bengaluru Foundation, run by Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar, who is associated with the BJP. What was the Congress government’s position on the project in 2016? The Congress government believed the project was essential to ease traffic in the short term along the 6.7 km stretch between Basaveshwara Circle and Hebbal. Siddaramaiah, in his first tenure as CM, had said the decision to build the flyover had been taken after great consideration. “The decision to spend Rs 1,791 crore for development was not taken just like that. It was done after a lot of deliberation,” he had said, after the state Cabinet cleared the project on September 29, 2016. "You can't fly and avoid traffic congestion in the city. Don't you think the steel flyover is needed to ease the present traffic crisis on the route?” he asked, when questioned about the project's feasibility at a public event. "When it comes to the development of the city, there will have to be a compromise on some things. For every tree that is cut for the project, we will compensate with 10-20 saplings. Environmentalists must understand this,” he said. "The project was proposed in the state budget two years ago. It is unfortunate that work has not started on it. Not only will it ease commuting to the airport, but will also be beneficial for local residents living along the flyover,” the then Bengaluru development minister, K J George, had said. Why was a steel flyover proposed? The main reason for the BDA favouring a steel flyover was that it could be constructed in a short span of time, unlike a concrete flyover. A steel flyover would also look nice, the BDA had said. The BDA was looking to have the flyover up and running in 24 months from commencement of work. Around 60,000 tonnes of steel was expected to be used. The flyover was to be pre-fabricated at workyards and assembled on site. Concerned over the threat of corrosion, critics argued that while there are around six steel flyovers in Kolkata, there was none of the size proposed in Bengaluru anywhere in the country. Meanwhile, the lobby in favour of the project said it would support the iron and steel industry in Karnataka, which is an iron ore and steel producing state. What happened to the project? The Namma Bengaluru Foundation and citizen's groups rallied support to oppose the project. The #SteelFlyoverBeda campaign against the project had the support of many civic groups. An initial attempt by them to get the Karnataka High Court to intervene did not yield results, with the HC instead clearing the path for implementation of the project. The government organised several meetings and discussions with the public and Opposition parties, to clear doubts about the project, but later dropped it in its entirety in 2017, following further protests, an interim stay from the National Green Tribunal, and corruption allegations by the BJP. "We did not receive a single rupee as kickback in the project. The BJP alleges that there was a Rs 65 crore kickback, mentioned in a diary, which is completely false,” K J George stated in 2017.
