Bengaluru: With Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari responding positively to the Peripheral Ring Road project, Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George shared some new plans and also revival of old plans that will ease the burden on the city. New roads, townships, cleaning up of lakes, and setting right of storm water drains, which have otherwise led to flash floods, the minister seems have his hands full!
Speaking to reporters after his Delhi visit, Mr George said that Mr Gadkari, during his meeting on Monday, responded positively to the projects and that the state government will ramp up the city infrastructure, which has been criticised for long.
North-South and East-West elevated corridors to decongest city: To decongest city roads, the government will take up three elevated corridors at a cost of Rs 18,500 crore. The PWD has been entrusted with the job of preparing a DPR for the project. While two East-West corridors will connect K.R. Puram with Yeshwanthpur and Varthur with Nayandahalli, the single North-South Corridor will connect Central Silk Board Junction with Chalukya Circle, Mr George said.
Peripheral Ring Road (PRR): The PRR, which is estimated to cost Rs 11,000 crore, will be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency. The state government, however, will bear the cost of land acquisition, which is estimated to be around Rs 8,000 crore. “The state government was planning to develop PRR as a joint project with the land owners. The land acquisition will be on the lines of Amaravati model followed by the Andhra Pradesh government. The land owners will be allotted developed land, instead of money,’’ he said.
The government will take up 380 km STRR, which will connect Hoskote, Anekal, Kanakapura, Ramanagara, Magadi and Tumkur. The Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) has been entrusted with the task of preparing the DPR. The project, along with five greenfield satellite towns, was originally conceived by the Kumaraswamy-led coalition government in 2007. But now only the roads are proposed to link all the towns around Bengaluru.
Township in Bidadi
The Bidadi Township will also be developed on an estimated 10,000 acres. The project was originally proposed by real estate major DLF as Knowledge City during the Kumaraswamy government, but later the company withdrew. The state has to now again call for fresh global tenders and restart the process.
Lakes and stormwater drains
With Bellandur and Varthur lakes frothing over, Mr George said that the government will take up both short-term and long term measures to rejuvenate the lakes. “A German company is coming up with a concrete proposal and will make a presentation within the next 10 days. The long-term measures, which will involve cleaning up of the lakes, will take three years,” he said.
The government has also decided to create awareness on rainwater harvesting to boost the water table level in the city. Besides, the BBMP will clear and desilt storm water drains to contain flooding, he said. “We will clear all encroachments on storm water drains. The operation will begin soon and it will start from areas that were flooded during monsoon,” he said.
Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) will be set up at all lakes to avoid sewage water getting into lakes. The city now produces 1,400 MLD of sewage every day, while actual capacity of STPs is only 721 MLD. STPs for treating another 329 MLD are under construction, while there is a proposal to construct some more STPs to treat over 520 MLD of sewage. Once these are ready, no sewage will reach lakes, he said.
