Activists welcome nod for suburban project but say decision is ill-timed

BENGALURU: Clearance of the long-pending suburban rail project has brought cheer to activists in the city. However, they are still skeptical as the decision was not officially announced after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting on Wednesday.
Activists say several such promises have been made in the past by governments at the Centre and state, but the project has remained on paper. Though Bengaluru has figured in many reports pertaining to the most congested cities, a dedicated suburban train network like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad has been a distant dream.
Rajkumar Dugar from Citizens for Citizens, an NGO, said: “We welcome the decision but why did the Centre choose to clear this project weeks before the bypolls? They would have known earlier that the model code of conduct is in force in Karnataka, yet they sat on the proposal for months.”
KN Krishna Prasad, founder-member of Karnataka Railway Vedike, said: “My dream is to travel in a suburban train in my lifetime. We have been waiting for several years. The project should have been implemented during former Bengaluru South MP Ananth Kumar’s tenure but it was delayed. It will be a tribute to former Union minister of state for railways Suresh Angadi.”
Sanjeev Dyamannavar, a commuter rail activist, who has been fighting for the project for several years, said: “CCEA was the final hurdle for the project. Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE) should now get into execution mode. Unlike Metro, railways has land which is readily available for the project. The focus should be on sourcing funds and completing the project without any further delay.”
Tara Krishnaswamy of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), which conducted the Chuku Buku Beku campaign, said: “We welcome the cabinet approval but how will the cash-strapped state government implement this project? The Centre should rope in funding agencies like JICA.”
Work on airport corridor likely to be taken up first
Sources say K-RIDE, an SPV which is executing the project, is likely to take up the airport corridor first. However, the state government has to take a final decision.
“We are planning to take up KSR Bengaluru-Devanahalli corridor with airport link on priority after getting the approval from the state government. The 41km section with 14 stations will be completed in three years. We are planning to complete all four corridors in six years,” said a K-RIDE source.
Sources say K-RIDE will shift to a new office in Yeshwantpur in a month. “We have started land acquisition. Design consultants will be identified soon. We are also in the process of recruitments and plan to float the tender for civil work in six months,” the source added.