Govt quashes tenders for elevated corridor

In a major victory for the citizen’s movement in Bengaluru, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday ordered the cancellation of tenders for the first stage (21.54 km) of the 90-km elevated corridor project conceived by the previous Congress government.

The order, however, does not talk about scrapping the project but directed the officials to prepare a fresh action plan by evaluating the actual cost.

DH had carried a series of articles by speaking to several experts, highlighting the perils of the elevated corridor, under the title ‘Corridor of Chaos’.

In a note addressed to Chief Secretary T M Vijayabhaskar, the chief minister directed to cancel the tenders floated for three packages under the first phase of the project.

The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), a subsidiary of the Public Works Department (PWD), had floated a tender at an estimated cost of Rs 6,855 crore for the first phase of the 87.87-km long elevated corridor to decongest traffic gridlock across Bengaluru.

The state government’s unilateral decision to go ahead with the tender process, without holding any consultation with citizens, had stirred a controversy, prompting various citizen groups to take to the streets against the government.

Though the then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had assured citizens that he would review the project, tenders were floated for the three packages under the first phase. Angered by the move, citizens had launched a movement #TenderRadduMaadi and alleged large-scale misappropriation of funds and expressed concern over the green cover of the city.

Following the DH report on the proposed alignment of the controversial stretch cutting through the verdant Cubbon Park, the public had come out in large numbers to protest against the project.

In his letter to the chief secretary, the chief minister said, “There have been complaints about irregularities in the tender process and large-scale illegalities in preparing the action plan for the project. Based on such complaints and detailed reports in various sections of the media, it is ordered to cancel the tenders immediately and prepare a fresh action plan by evaluating the actual cost.”

Srinivas Alivilli, co-founder, Citizens for Bengaluru, which, along with several other citizen associations, had raised voice against the project, said, “We welcome the decision by the CM to cancel the ill-conceived project tenders. Back in March-2019, thousands had gathered to urge the government to cancel the tenders. Now, we urge the CM to completely shelve the project and focus on strengthening public transport in our city, because it is the lack of mass transport that has caused traffic problems and not the lack of flyovers (we have 55). This decision once again shows that when citizens come together and act collectively in public interest, governments take cognizance.”

Whitefield Rising, yet another citizen collective in East Bengaluru, tweeted, “We sincerely hope that the CM of Karnataka and officials will work towards constituting United Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) that will look at solving many mobility issues holistically.”

Members of the Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike, whose volunteers had prepared an assessment report all along the stretch, said, “We welcome the decision. At the same time, an inquiry conducted on the project was approved and tenders were floated by violating the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act.”