Bengaluru: BJP leaders flay high-rises in green zones

Bengaluru: A day after DH reported on the state government’s plan to relax building norms and permit construction in green zones as part of the proposed 16 to 75-km tunnel road project, BJP leaders in Karnataka strongly opposed the move.

"The real intention behind Dy CM DK Shivakumar’s Tunnel Road is finally clear — not to ease traffic, but to please the real estate mafia," R Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said in a post on X.

He said the government has shamelessly lifted FSI limits and opened up Bengaluru’s most precious green and sensitive zones.

"Instead of protecting Bengaluru’s lungs, they are auctioning them. Instead of reducing congestion, they are preparing to build glass towers and choke the city further. This is not urban planning — it is urban looting in the name of infrastructure," he said.

Bangalore Central MP PC Mohan described the government’s plan to raise the Floor Space Index from 2.5 to 5 for the Rs 17,800-crore tunnel road project as alarming.

"Allowing high-rises in green zones like Lalbagh, Race Course, and Palace Grounds defies the city’s Master Plan and will only worsen Bengaluru’s traffic severely," he said.