Bengaluru: A surprise meeting between Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday has given a fresh lease of life to two-decade old Bengaluru suburban rail project.
After the meeting, Mr Kumaraswamy told reporters that the state would sign MoU with Union Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would lay foundation to the project.
The project was conceived in 1995, when Deve Gowda was the chief minister. The state government had laid down 19 conditions for taking up the project.
Mr Goyal said the Chief Minister had agreed to forego all the conditions. The state also had agreed to give Rs 6,000 crore worth land on Rs 1 lease.
The project was expected to cost around Rs 23,000 crore. The project proposal would be brought before union cabinet on Feb 25. Even if Lok Sabha elections is announced, the code of conduct will not be applicable, he said.
Stating that land acquisition within Bengaluru city would be difficult, Mr Goyal said that 70 km of elevated corridor would be constructed. Another 90 km would be normal route, he said.
Remembering former Union Minister late Ananth Kumar, Mr Goyal said that it was his pet project. He was talking about the project since 2017.
While state had made Rs 400 crore budgetary provision for the project, centre also has earmarked funds for this project in its budget, he added.
The project is expected to take six years for completion. It will help ease traffic congestion on Bengaluru roads and reduce air pollution. Citizens of Bengaluru (CfB) and other organizations in the city had earlier run a campaign Chuku Buku Beku for the implementation of suburban train network in the city.
Welcoming the development Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “Great news for Namma Bengaluru! Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal have promised to resolve all outstanding issues between the state government and Indian Railways for subUrban railway. The 23,000 crore project will soon be a reality. Thank you to both leaders and also MP PC Mohan and Aravind Limbavali.”
