Bangalore Development Authority allocated RS 50 crore; fiscal deficit of Rs 4000 crore still remains

BENGALURU: Reeling under a financial deficit of Rs 4,000 crore, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) was hoping to get at least Rs 1,600 crore from the state budget this time. But the allocation is nowhere near the expectation.

It got just Rs 50 crore for Bellandur lake, while a special purpose vehicle set up for the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project a year ago has hardly been mentioned. The Rs 11,950-crore PRR project, touted as a solution to the city’s traffic mess, is left in the lurch once again with no funding earmarked for it. A top official told The New Indian Express that the BDA sought at least Rs 1,000 crore to start the project, but it has been ignored.

The 65.5-km eight-lane PRR project aims at providing seamless connectivity to major hubs including Electronic City, Sarjapur, Varthur, Whitefield, Hosakote and Bengaluru International Airport. It would connect Tumukuru Road and Hosur Road, intersecting Dodaballapur Road, Ballari Road, Old Madras Road and Sarjapur Road and ensure connectivity to Kanakapura Road and Mysuru Road too.

A source said, “Even if Rs 1,000 crore was provided to us, one stretch of PRR project planned in three phases could be implemented. If we could connect Tumukuru Road and Bellary Road, it would help decongest the roads.” The project looks dead as of now, he added. Though Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is funding the civil works, no agency is coming forward to fund the land acquisition which costs Rs 8,000 crore. “This is only the land value fixed in 2015-2016. The guidance value has soared now and this cost alone could touch Rs 12,000 crore,” he said.