JOIN USThe State government has formed a sub-committee comprising citizens and representatives of Residents’ Welfare Association to suggest alternatives to the Sirsi Circle-Agara Junction signal free corridor project.
The panel comes in the wake of a public meeting on Monday called by the Bangalore Development Authority to elicit public opinion on the proposed project.
Additional Chief Secretary to government, Kaushik Mukherjee, who chaired the meeting, told Deccan Herald that the formation of the sub-committee was warranted as the civic agencies were ‘forcing’ a project which the people did not want.
“The sub-committee will meet at its convenience to discuss possible alternatives. I have give a time of eight days to come up with suggestions,” Mukherjee said.
The panel will comprise 11 members - six from public at large and five from civic agencies such as Bangalore Development Authority, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and Urban Development Department etc.
The majority representation for the public will help in formulating a better alternatives for the project. Upgrading the Hosur Road and Sarjapur Road was one of the alternative suggested at the meeting, Mukherjee said.
However, there were varied responses from non-governmental organisations and residents who took part in the meeting. Residents of Koramangala, who are resisting the ‘unscientific’ project, were pleased with the initiative from the government side.
“The meeting got off to a positive start with a lot of ideas suggested as alternatives to the corridor,” said Nitin, a resident of Koramangala. He said while most agreed on the possible solutions which the sub-committee can develop further, there were few dissenting voices too.
The members from sixth block, Koramangala, were against any sort of development projects in the vicinity. They too have been given a representation in the sub-committee, Nitin said.
The members from Hasiru Usiru demanded that the government should comply with the High Court order on‘principle of prior and informed consent’ to be followed by the government in all its actions, and particularly when directed by the court.