The State government now wants to commercially develop real estate along the proposed Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), shrinking its right of way (RoW) to cross-subsidise the land acquisition cost pegged at ₹21,000 crore. The road has already been renamed Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC) to reflect the same change in nature of the project, sources said.
The government has taken this decision after the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) failed to get any bidders for the tenders it floated thrice, as no private players were ready to foot the land acquisition costs, sources said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah chairing a meeting with Ministers and officials in Bengaluru on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar recently asked the BDA to look at innovative financing options to make the PRR viable. As per the new proposal, the BDA will give the contract to private players under the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model.
RoW will shrink further
However, the proposal to develop land commercially along the PRR will shrink its RoW. The initial proposal for PRR had a RoW of 100 metres with eight lanes of the main road with three lanes of service roads on either side. This was shrunk to 75 metres a year ago.
Now, the RoW will shrink further - eight lanes of main road with service road on only one side of the road, which would add up to around 55 to 60 metres. The remaining land of around 40 to 45 metres along the road is now proposed to be developed commercially.
The road project that connects Tumakuru Road and Hosur Road, cutting across Ballari Road and Old Madras Road, complementing the NICE Road alignment in the other half of the city, needs around 3,500 acres of land. Acquiring land has run into legal challenges and opposition from farmers. The government and the BDA will come out with a mode of compensation for land losers, sources said.
A presentation to this effect was made by officials at a meeting of city Ministers, Congress MLAs, and senior officials, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Wednesday, sources said. The meeting discussed various other issues, including the proposed integrated waste management system (IWMS), skydeck, tunnel road and other key projects. Restructuring of the city administration did not come up for discussion, sources said.
Tunnel Road between Silk Board and Hebbal, 12 new signal-free corridors in outer zones
The State government is now preparing to build a tunnel road of 18.5 km from Silk Board junction to Hebbal at an estimated cost of ₹12,000 crore. The presentation made at a meeting on Wednesday included the same. However, the government is still working out the financing model for the project and may go for a super annuity model, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) also proposed 12 new signal-free corridors by building flyovers and underpasses, all in the outer zones of the city. Some of the proposed corridors include K.R. Puram-Hope Farm, Hoodi-Hope Farm junction among others, sources said. The government is mulling over taking up four such corridors this year.
