BENGALURU: Opposing the government’s plans to construct elevated corridors and revive the steel flyover project, various experts said that such projects will only congest roads and worsen the environment.

In the background of the announcement on construction of elevated corridors and revival of the steel flyover, Save Bangalore Committee (SBC) had organised a public discourse ‘NO To Elevated Corridor and Steel Flyover!’ at UVCE Alumni Association Hall on Sunday.

T V Ramachandra, coordinator of Energy and Wetlands Research Group of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), who took part as a panelist, said the corridors and steel flyover would only increase traffic.“The city would have only 2.96 per cent green cover by 2020, the rest being filled with concrete, thereby increasing the carbon footprint. Projects like the elevated corridor and steel flyovers will only worsen the environment, and quality of life will be hampered.

Currently, the green cover in the city is about 33 per cent, and will reduce to 2.96 per cent in the next couple of years. In a democracy, it is the people who need to be at the discretion of all major government policies and projects.”

Presenting data on various models adopted across countries such as Norway and Denmark, where public transport is the primary mode of travel, Associate Professor for V Gnanamurthy Convener of Save Bangalore Committee (SBC), criticised the proposed projects and said they were “unscientific”.

“Lack of scientific management of traffic and lack of reliable public transport are the major cause of traffic in the city.”