Citizen groups demand public consultation on Bengaluru tunnel road project

Bengaluru: A diverse group of citizens has written to the state government and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), urging a public consultation on the proposed tunnel road project in Bengaluru.

They raised concerns that such a large-scale project — both in financial investment and potential impact — has reached the draft Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage without following due process.

In a letter signed by 16 organisations and individuals, they said the 74th Amendment to the Constitution mandates urban planning to be handled by a planning authority or a Metropolitan Planning Committee.

"The BBMP has initiated this project without clarifying under what authority it is preparing the plan or specifying the process followed in proposing it," the letter stated.

The letter further pointed out that the Revised Master Plan 2015 does not mention the tunnel road project, and it does not appear to comply with the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. Additionally, it has not been routed through the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA).

The signatories outlined four key demands: A formal public consultation with clarity on legal provisions under which the project is being carried out, full disclosure of the final feasibility study and the final DPR, transparency in the consultation process with public access to all suggestions received, and clear reasons for accepting or rejecting suggestions during the consultation.

They added that their letter does not comment on the project's merits or drawbacks, but calls on the BBMP to uphold democratic planning principles.

Prominent signatories include Vijayan Menon (Citizens’ Action Forum), S Vishwanath (Biome Environmental Trust), DT Devare (Bangalore Environment Trust), Vikram Rai (Bangalore Apartments’ Federation), Srikanth Narasimhan (Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party), Vinod Jacob (Namma Bengaluru Foundation), and Rajkumar Dugar (Citizens for Citizens).