Bengaluru suburban rail project gets real, requests axing of 661 trees

In an indication that the Bengaluru suburban rail project is finally taking off, the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited has sought the BBMP’s permission for clearing 661 trees to build the Baiyappanahalli-Chikkabanavara line (corridor 2).

In a public notification on the tree-clearing proposal, the BBMP stated that members of the public can send their objections or suggestions within 10 days from Thursday. However, the civic body has not uploaded to its website the document containing details of the trees to be affected by the project.

The 25.57-km corridor, nicknamed ‘Mallige’, is the second of the four corridors of the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project. It will have a total of 14 stations and an eight-kilometre-long elevated section.

K-RIDE had invited bids for the corridor in November and officials hoped to get the project pushed by the prime minister, who was to visit Bengaluru in December. But as the visit got cancelled so did the work on the ground.

A senior official said it might take two more months to process the bids. “We will open the financial bids by the end of January,” the official said. Once the contract is awarded, the successful bidder will have 27 months to complete the civil work.

Meanwhile, activists have been urging the government to prioritise the KSR Bengaluru-Devanahalli line (corridor 1), as suggested by the Railway Board. In its sanction letter, the board had stated that the 41.4-km line can be completed within three years while the other three corridors can be completed in six years.

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