By Dr. K. Javeed Nayeem
Taking all factors into consideration, this Tunnel Road Project, which will most certainly be of no use in solving the traffic problems of Bengaluru, clearly smacks of being an act aimed only at enriching the already very rich and greedy. We the people of the State should oppose the construction of the tunnel road and prevail upon the government to explore other more viable and less expensive options of easing the very real traffic woes there…
The highly controversial Bangalore Tunnel Road Project, which is undoubtedly the costliest project in the pipeline of our State Government and also reportedly one of the costliest road making projects in the entire world, seems all set to take off.
Yes, envisaged at an estimated cost of Rs. 18,000 crore, this nearly 18-km-long road will come at a cost of a whopping 1,000 crore rupees per kilometre. Needless to say, by the time the project is completed, the cost would have escalated a good deal, as it invariably happens with any project good or bad, that is well executed, without being unduly delayed, let alone badly messed up.
But even the final cost at which it is expected to come, is something that should not worry the common man on the street much, simply because he has never had a chance to comprehend how many zeroes there are in a crore, let alone play with such figures.
Over a fairly long time now, this project has been seen by most sensible people who understand figures, as one that will do nothing to mitigate the traffic woes that have been plaguing the residents of Bengaluru, making their daily lives nothing short of a daily a nightmare.
Almost all experts in the field, feel that while this outlandishly expensive tunnel will only provide a conduit to about 1,200 cars and about 1,800 people each way, per hour, traversing between north and south Bengaluru, it will have almost no effect in easing the traffic woes between these two points. This is because this road will be open only to cars, with public transport buses, autorickshaws and two-wheelers being completely banned on it.
To get an idea of the traffic volume on this route, it is enough to know that the jam-packed Namma Metro on the Green Line, that runs all day long, still ferries only about five percent of the daily commuters, leaving the rest to rely on other modes of road travel like buses, autos, two-wheelers and cars.
To circumvent all the opposition that this project is facing from many quarters and to get a legitimacy certificate to this baby that hitherto seemed illegitimate, our State Government has now come up with a brilliant idea, tailor-made not just only to go ahead with this one single ill-conceived project but to conceive many other similar ones in the coming future, without having to overcome the expected public outrage and opposition, from time to time.
The newly amended Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Bill allows the State to use, transfer or alienate up to 5 percent of our total park and garden land across the entire State, for public infrastructure and utility projects. In much simpler terms, this means that up to five percent of the hitherto protected park or garden land can be sold, gifted, leased, exchanged or mortgaged for any kind of public works, depending on the need, which translates into the whims and fancies of the government.
To give it a fig leaf of some decency, the government has said that this land acquisition can be done only after any such proposal is first reviewed and recommended by a high-level committee, led by an official of the Additional Chief Secretary level, which will include domain experts and government officers.
Now, there is no need for me to tell you how upright any such committee can be expected to be, under government pressure and the hefty bribes that will be paid by the unholy nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and contractors, who stand to benefit from the permissions it will grant.
The most shameful part is that this unholy bill was passed in great haste, along with nine other bills, without any debate on Aug.24, which is not very surprising, because the opposition members were busy shouting slogans, in the house, demanding the resignation of a scam-tainted Minister.
Whether this uproar was a coincidence or a carefully staged drama, is anyone’s guess because the passing of this bill certainly means that all those who govern us, irrespective of which party they belong to, would always have a cash cow on hand for future use, when power comes into their hands, as it most certainly will, by turns, sooner or later. Who milks this cow when they catch hold of it, is immaterial.
This disturbing trend of legitimising the usurping of park and garden land is not new. Recent history shows that successive State Governments since 1991, have transferred and utilised more than seven hundred acres of park and garden land across our State, for various purposes like making metro stations, widening of roads, erection of statues, making of public toilets and the expansion of government offices, among other things.
And, mind you, this is long after the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act was passed and expected to be enforced in May 1975, which therefore constitutes a series of illegal acts by the government itself.
Now, just five percent of land may seem like a very tiny bit of space but when you see what it really translates to, you will be left astounded and even outraged. This five percent means, 12 acres of land in the Lalbagh and 10 acres of land in the Cubbon Park. And even if you leave aside the environmental impact and take into consideration just the present value of land in Bengaluru, you can understand the amount of easy money that is set to be made by all the vested interests, in the development works that will eventually be done there.
Taking all factors into consideration, this Tunnel Road Project, which will most certainly be of no use in solving the traffic problems of Bengaluru, clearly smacks of being an act aimed only at enriching the already very rich and greedy. That is why, we the people of the State, should oppose the construction of the new tunnel road and prevail upon the government to explore other more viable and less expensive options of easing the very real traffic woes there.
This tunnel road and the tunnel vision of its promoters, needs to be corrected with another set of spectacles, offering a broader view, rather than through the pink ones that some people are seeing it with!
More importantly, it is necessary for us all to protest and ensure that the Draconian amendment to the Act protecting our parks, is withdrawn so that they remain, clean, green and pristine.
e-mail:kjnmysore@rediffmail.com
This post was published on August 30, 2026 7:30 pm