Bengaluru: In a new twist to the ongoing controversy over the proposal of Rs 1,761-crore streel flyover project, the state government on Thursday scrapped the project. Bengaluru Development Minister K J George has announced the cancellation of the steel flyover project during the meeting convened at Vidhana Soudha to discuss with the elected representatives about the water problems in Bengaluru city.
The sudden decision comes in the backdrop of allegations that kickbacks from this project have been paid to the Congress high command and chief minister Siddaramaiah’s family.
Speaking with media persons, Minister George said, “We have cancelled the project as we have been compelled to prove our sincerity. There are corruption charges being levelled against us when not a single rupee has been taken as kickback by us. We do not want to take the blame for something that we have not done, so we are dropping the project. The steel bridge project had become a pain point for us as the media has been speaking on a daily-basis about corruption in it,” the minister said.
Several Congress legislators including Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Dinesh Gundu Rao had mounted pressure on Bengaluru Development Minister to drop the controversial steel bridge project as it was tarnishing the image of the government. “The proposed steel bridge is being portrayed as a monument of Congress corruption by the opposition parties. Why should we take the blame when our intention is to improve Bengaluru?” Dinesh Gundu Rao said. Joining him, Shantinagar MLA NA Haris said, “We are tired of explaining to the people about the project. A decision should be taken on the project before more damage is caused to the party. MLAs Muniratna and Somashekar had also asked the government to put an end to the steel project by cancelling it.
The 6.9-km steel flyover was to connect Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal with an extension on Sankey Road up to LRDE complex. The project was supposed to be implemented by BDA to decongest Ballari road leading to Kempegowda International Airport. The detailed project report showed the flyover starts from near Maharani’s College on Palace road till the expressway near Kempapura Junction beyond Hebbal interchange. The project drew flak from citizens and green activists as it required axing of trees and was also termed as an unsustainable solution to reduce city’s traffic woes. The bridge to be built through the greenest parts of the city would have required cutting of 812 trees.
The Chennai bench of the National Green Tribunal on October 28, 2016 stayed the 6.9-km project from Chalukya Circle in the city centre to Hebbal junction in the northern suburb, connecting the international airport road at Devanahalli and National Highway 4 towards Hyderabad.
The expensive six-lane project, ostensibly meant to ease the gridlock on the busy thoroughfare, faced vehement opposition from civic society and urban experts as it would have resulted in the loss of about 800 trees and their green canopy en-route to the city’s outskirts.
State’s former Additional Chief Secretary V. Balasubramanian and Citizens Action Forum President N.S. Mukunda jointly filed the writ petition before the Tribunal against the BDA from executing the project as it would have caused environmental damage to the garden city. The Tribunal bench, headed by Justice M. Chokalingam and expert member P.S. Rao, passed an interim order, restraining the state government from going ahead with the project till the petitioners’ concerns were heard and addressed. “Neither the state government nor BDA considered alternative routes, no study was done to confirm if the steel bridge was the best option, no permission was taken to cut 800 trees and no public hearings were conducted before awarding the project to a private firm,” claimed the petitioners then.
