PRR hits roadblock again

Bengaluru
Nov. 19: The Rs 6,000 crore, 112 km Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), planned to circumnavigate Bengaluru and decongest the city, is heading nowhere. After dragging its feet for six years on the project, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is set to stall it yet again.
Following an advisory from ABIDe, the BDA had agreed in principle to work with Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) and join Phase I of the PRR with the existing 42 km of peripheral road developed by NICE.
This, ABIDe pointed out, would benefit commuters in a big way, save the exchequer crores of rupees and cut down on project time.
Now the BDA wants to pull out and has expressed apprehension on the move at a coordination meeting recently called by former chief secretary A. Ravindraa, who is now advisor on infrastructure to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
According to secretariat sources, BDA Commissioner Siddaiah told Mr Ravindra that it would not be feasible to merge PRR and the NICE peripheral road due to differences in the design of the two roads.
“The commissioner was of the opinion that BDA’s PRR was not a controlled access road unlike NICE road. Also, the PRR will have eight lanes with service roads on either side, access to adjoining areas and scope for commercial development along the ring road,” he said. “This is not the case with the NICE Road which has restricted land use. So BDA will go it alone and build the entire 112 km on the lines of the original plan approved in 2003,” he said.
The move comes as a blow to NICE which was keen to participate in the PRR project and was supposed to build 19 km of a stretch of road of 65 km from Tumkur Road to Bellary Road after bagging the contract on the Swiss Challenge Method. However NICE representatives said they were not aware of this development. “ABIDe had proposed the idea and we agreed. We have not been intimated about the change in plan,” said a NICE representative.
The project has been in limbo due to issues related to land acquisition and funding. The BDA had also proposed to hand over the project to the National Highways Authority of India that has expertise in handling large projects.