Workers stand in front of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) during the breakthrough of a tunnel for the future tramway line in Nice, France.
Credit: Reuters photo
Bengaluru: Karnataka government's ambitious 16.74-km tunnel road project is set to bulldoze through the premises of some prominent landmarks in Bengaluru, including a hospital, botanical garden and the race course.
Though the Rs 17,698-crore project — connecting Central Silk Board and Hebbal — is completely an underground road, the Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE) has identified five key locations for launching the tunnel boring machines (TBMs).
Approximately 6.5 acres of land is needed in each of these locations for digging 'shafts' with a depth of 100 feet to lower the TBMs.
While the B-SMILE has not formally initiated the land acquisition proceedings, it has surveyed the five properties and has also started holding backroom discussions for acquiring them, which is critical to start the work, it's learnt.
Of the five land parcels, only one is a private property — St John's Medical College Hospital — on Hosur Road in Koramangala. The shaft will be dug on a vacant plot behind St Anthony’s Friary, which is currently used as staff quarters and a playground. However, the hospital management has raised concerns, citing disruptions to patient care and long-term expansion plans.
The rest are government-owned, which the officials believe are easier to acquire. These include parts of Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Race Course, Palace Grounds and Hebbal.
At Lalbagh, digging is expected near the Siddapura entrance, affecting its nursery and parking area, while the massive rock formation — a tourist attraction — is just a stone's throw away. The activities at Race Course may also see a limited disruption as a small piece of Bangalore Turf Club land, situated just behind Freedom Park on Seshadri road, may be taken away for the project.
At Palace Grounds near Mehkri circle, B-SMILE may have to start a fresh land acquisition process as the identified land for the tunnel road falls outside the 15 acres earlier marked for road-widening.
In Hebbal, the tunnel road will be launched on a seven-acre plot, a land originally sought by the Namma Metro to build a depot and the multi-modal hub. The 45-acre land — which belongs to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) — is being shared between different parties for different purposes. Namma Metro has also got nine acres, down from the 45 acres it had earlier sought.
Beyond the five 'shaft' locations, the B-SMILE is also required to widen the roads in 16 places where the entry and exit points of the tunnel road are planned. This is however not an immediate concern for the authorities.
According to B-SMILE Technical Director BS Prahallad, each shaft needs about 6.5 acres, of which five acres will be restored post-construction. "The remaining 1.5 acres will be retained for ventilation and related infrastructure. We’ve tried to minimise land acquisition by targeting publicly owned plots," he said.
The entity has set aside about Rs 800 crore for acquiring properties and rehabilitation measures.