Peripheral Ring Road, Airport runway expansion, Road Under Bridge near Crawford Hall, KRS Road

Mysore/Mysuru: Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha has criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for repurposing and rebranding several projects initiated by the Central and former Karnataka BJP Government, presenting them as his own in the recent State Budget for 2024-2025.

“Many of the projects announced by Siddaramaiah were originally brought to Mysuru by me (as the MP) with sanctions and funds secured from the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre and Basavaraj Bommai’s BJP Government in Karnataka. Siddaramaiah has essentially copied these projects and reintroduced them as his own in the Budget, thereby deceiving the people of Mysuru,” stated the MP in a press release.

Road Under Bridge

Citing several projects as examples, the MP Pratap Simha pointed out that Siddaramaiah has blatantly copied them to claim credit, even though they were not initiated by him.

“The Centre has already allocated Rs. 42.14 crore for the Road Under Bridge (RUB) project near the Crawford Hall on the Kukkarahalli-Bogadi Road to alleviate traffic congestion. This project was initiated at the Mysuru-Chamarajanagar level crossing 1. However, Siddaramaiah has announced the same project as ‘Road Over Bridge’ (ROB),” Pratap Simha explained.

Similarly, a grant of Rs. 42.88 crore has been approved by the Centre for a Road Under Bridge on KRS Road near Royal Inn Junction, specifically targeting level crossing 5. Yet again, this project has been rebranded as a  Road Under Bridge.

The Basavaraj Bommai Government had allocated Rs. 319.3 crore in the Budget to facilitate the upgrading of the Mysore Airport runway to accommodate larger flights. “This allocation was specifically designated for land acquisition purposes. A total of Rs. 276.13 crore has already been disbursed in four stages, with Rs. 43 crore remaining pending. However, Siddaramaiah has now included and repurposed the same project in his Budget announcement,” Pratap Simha remarked.

Peripheral Ring Road

The Peripheral Ring Road project, envisioned to accommodate Mysuru city’s anticipated growth over the next 50 years, was originally conceptualised by the BJP Government at the Centre, he noted.

“Former Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Chairman H.V. Rajeev, Commissioner G.T. Dinesh Kumar and myself (as the MP) had met Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. Following Gadkari’s suggestion, the Basavaraj Bommai Government allocated Rs. 10 crore to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR). Although the DPR preparation is underway, Siddaramaiah has rebranded the Peripheral Ring Road project as his own and included it in his Budget announcement,” the MP stated.

Filling lakes and ponds

“In 2023, the then BJP Government under CM Basavaraj Bommai allocated Rs. 85 crore for a project ratified by the Cabinet on March 24. This initiative aimed to provide drinking water to 49 lakes and ponds in Hunsur, sourced from the Lakshmanatheertha River at Maradoor village. Tenders for the project have already been initiated. However, amusingly, Siddaramaiah has now relaunched this project in the Budget,” Pratap Simha stated.