Sankey flyover project on hold, asserts BBMP

Following backlash from citizens, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has promised to keep the controversial plan to build a flyover along Sankey Tank on hold till it gets the approval of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA).

The message was conveyed to the residents who met BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath on Wednesday.

The file seeking approval for removal of trees on the stretch is pending at the office of the BBMP’s Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), and the commissioner has asked the officials not to proceed with it.

“There is a proposal for the removal of 30 trees and we are yet to inspect the stretch and begin the process. However, the chief commissioner has asked us to put it on hold,” said Sarina Sikkaligar, DCF.

Members of the Citizens for Sankey, a collective of residents from Malleswaram, Sadashivanagar, and Vyalikaval, who met Girinath on Wednesday also submitted an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report prepared by the Vruksha Foundation and Azim Premji University.

“We hope that citizens and government bodies work together for the sake of the city to preserve its greenery. We will not stop our efforts until this flyover and road-widening project is scrapped in its entirety, and the Sankey Tank Lake is safeguarded from unscientific planning and construction,” said Kimsuka from the Citizens for Sankey.

BMLTA scrutiny

As the BMLTA is yet to formulate rules and regulations on how to go about such applications, it is unlikely that the BMLTA will be able to decide on the flyover anytime soon. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is the chairman of the BMLTA, is yet to call its first meeting. More importantly, the government has not appointed members for the BMLTA.

Sources said the BMLTA may take full shape only after the new government is formed. The Bommai-led government is unlikely to appoint members to the BMLTA as it could lead to unnecessary controversies ahead of the Assembly polls.