'A white elephant that beats all white elephants': Prominent citizens slam Bengaluru's tunnel-road project

'When you design a complex infrastructure project, you must consult domain experts. The government lacks the necessary expertise and credibility to undertake such a massive exercise on its own', historian Ramachandra Guha said.

Bengaluru: Serious concerns are mounting over the state government’s proposed North–South and East–West tunnel road corridors, with three prominent public figures terming the Rs 40,000-crore project "economically risky, environmentally disastrous and morally dubious".

Civic Bangalore, a not-for-profit citizens’ collective, consulted historian Ramachandra Guha, former chief secretary A Ravindra and former Lokayukta Justice (retired) Santosh Hegde to elicit their views on the ambitious underground corridor proposal aimed at easing traffic congestion in the city.

Guha described the project as an "extraordinarily costly, wasteful and ill-conceived" exercise. He expressed surprise that reputable institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science had not been consulted.

"When you design a complex infrastructure project, you must consult domain experts. The government lacks the necessary expertise and credibility to undertake such a massive exercise on its own," he noted.

Guha warned that tunnelling through Bengaluru’s hard rock terrain for several miles could cause ecological damage and major traffic disruption during execution.

"This is a white elephant that beats all white elephants,” he said, adding that the project is moving ahead without stakeholder consultation. He also cautioned that the project would exceed initial budget by 20-50%.

Ravindra acknowledged that Bengaluru is heavily congested but said the tunnel’s full implications have not been properly analysed. "While the stated objective is to reduce congestion, there is a strong possibility that it may actually increase congestion,” he said.

Referring to the Centre's National Urban Transport Policy, Ravindra stressed that cities must prioritise public transport and discourage private vehicle use. "The metro is popular but still requires expansion. The bus transport system must be improved by inducting more buses," he noted.

Calling the project "not viable", Ravindra expressed scepticism about its execution under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. "The project is fraught with problems. Citizens are likely to face considerable inconvenience,” he said, urging the government to explore innovative measures to curb private vehicle use.

Justice Hegde termed the tunnel road proposal an “ad hoc plan”, alleging that statutory bodies such as the Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) had not been adequately consulted.

He also noted that the Directorate of Urban Land Transport had indicated that a tunnel road was not the right solution for Bengaluru and that an expert committee had identified 121 deficiencies in the Detailed Project Report (DPR).

Describing it as an "elite project", Hegde argued that it would primarily serve private car users and raise concerns about equality before the law. With a proposed one-way toll of around Rs 300, daily commuters could end up paying nearly Rs 18,000 a month, he noted. Experts estimate that around one lakh cars may use the tunnel daily.

"In a city with nearly one crore vehicles, removing just one lakh vehicles will not meaningfully decongest Bengaluru," Hegde said, adding that the funds could instead be invested in rapid public transport systems that benefit a wider section of the population.