The elevated corridor project, which was initially proposed to have six inter-connected corridors, will now have seven. But its lane configuration has been shrunk in order to reduce issues in land acquisition.
The project will be taken up at a cost ₹25,495 crore, up from ₹15,825 crore announced earlier in the budget. This included the acquisition costs.
Besides the originally planned six corridors, another 10.99 km of elevated corridor connecting Ramamurthy Nagar and ITPL will be built at a cost of ₹1,731 crore. The six-lane corridor plan has been changed to four lanes in some sections to prevent inconvenience to the public and reduce acquisition of private properties. In all, 17 acres of private land will be acquired while 92 acres of government land will be used.
While the 26.89-km-long North-South corridor connecting Hebbal and Silk Board Junction will cost ₹7,224 crore, the 20.95-km-long East-West corridor connecting K.R. Puram and Goraguntepalya will cost ₹6,245 crore. Another East-West corridor of 29.48 km, connecting Varthur Kodi and Mysuru Road, will cost ₹7,083 crore. Among the connecting corridors, a 6.46-km one from Wheeler’s Junction to Kalyan Nagar will cost ₹1,653 crore, while a 2.8-km one from Ulsoor to D’Souza Circle will cost ₹733 crore. A 4.48-km corridor connecting St. John’s Hospital to Agara will cost ₹826 crore.
Saying that it would be a “double-deck corridor”, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Thursday that provisions were being made to integrate Namma Metro with the elevated corridor alignment. “From the foundation itself, the corridor will be aligned with future plans of Namma Metro,” he said.
On Thursday, he said, deliberations were held on management of traffic during the construction phase and officials directed to implement the project transparently. “I have also directed them to avoid legal hurdles in the project,” he said.
‘Open to discussion’
Mr. Kumaraswamy said on Thursday that those opposed to the elevated corridor project need not protest on the streets. “The doors of the Vidhana Soudha are always open for discussion,” he said, though he added that no one should come in the way of development.
“I am willing to discuss. People who are sceptical about the project can meet me or the Chief Secretary,” he said. He also said that he would not allow destruction of the environment or cause air pollution in the name of development or infrastructure. In all, he said, about 3,700 trees have been identified to be felled. “We will also try translocate the trees to a 100-acre area,” he added.
