Benagaluru: The BBMP’s plan to build a 1 km road from Hope Junction Farm to ECC Road junction to connect Whitefield with Outer Ring Road has not gone down well with citizens. The link road, from Outer Ring Road near Marathahalli to Whitefield Road near Varthur Kodi, will lead to cutting down of 140 trees, and acquisition of a portion of the St Joseph’s Convent and part of the Pattandur Agrahara Lake.
Though the BBMP claims the new road is being constructed keeping traffic congestion in mind, residents believe that it will benefit corporates and powerful builders. The civic body also cites Revised Master Plan 2015 as one of the reasons behind the construction.
“First of all, the Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2015 talks of proposed land use. Does it mean it is approved? There has been no public consultation on the construction of the road. Moreover, the RMP itself is in violation of the 74th amendment of the Constitution,” said Mr Sandeep Anirudhan of Whitefield Rising.
The 74th amendment of the Constitution 1992 says, “Metropolitan committee should be constituted in every metropolitan area to prepare a draft development plan for the metropolitan area as a whole.”
The chief engineer, BBMP, Mr B.S. Prahlad, said that the civic body is not a planning body, but an implementing body and the citizens who are opposing the construction of the road are against development.
“The survey is in progress and over 140 trees are coming in the way of construction. We have planned to translocate the trees and those of which are not eligible for translocation will be removed with due diligence,” he said.
On lake encroachment, he termed it a non-issue and said that earlier, highways passed over the tank bund road. “We are not utilising the lake bed area which includes tank bund, but the road that passes by the side of the lake,” he explained.
Rs 3 crore has already been sanctioned for the construction and the civic authority is in talks with school authorities on the road passing through the campus. The residents have, however, upped the ante against the construction citing environmental concerns.
