BJP urges Siddaramaiah to suspend Rs 1800 cr steel-flyover project in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s ambitious steel flyover project in Bengaluru to facilitate smooth flow of traffic to the international airport at Devanahalli has met with strong resistance from the Opposition BJP which has called for public consultation before taking a final call on the Rs 1761 crore project.

Many civic activists and citizens have planned a human chain from Basaveshwara Circle to BDA junction to express their opposition to the project on Sunday, and the BJP has come out in support of this.

The State Cabinet had on Sep 28 cleared the project even as experts debated options to decongest the stretch between Basaveshwara circle (Chalukya circle) and Hebbal where the BDA has taken up the steel flyover project. The opinion is divided about the project with some experts suggesting a concrete flyover would be more modern and others coming up with alternative options.

BJP spokesperson and former Urban Development Minister S Suresh Kumar, in a letter to the Chief Minister, urged the government to suspend work on the project until it gave an opportunity to members of public, civic groups, and experts to air their views. "There has been no Public hearing on this massive project involving nearly Rs 1800 crore rupees of tax money. The details of the project have not been made public. Many a judgement of the Supreme Court has ordered that public hearing is a must in any public project involving huge money," he said.

There are other easy alternate solutions to ease traffic on Ballary Road which has been studied by concerned citizens. "But their voice is not reaching the authorities because of the vested interests in building this flyover," the BJP leader said.

The BDA, he added, has said that it will plant 10 trees as against each tree that is cut. He called it another falsehood from BDA which is known for not fulfilling its promises. He quoted noted environmentalist A.N.Yellappa Reddy’s statement who said, "Substituting trees with ornamental plants is nothing but stupidity. One needs trees for oxygen, mitigating pollution, creating habitats for birds among other things."

Suresh Kumar said sections of civic activists are suspicious about the "hidden agenda" behind the project which he said is "contractor-oriented" and "election fund oriented." He urged the CM to have a chat with Union Minister D.V.Sadananda Gowda who has come up with alternative suggestions.