D K Shivakumar warns Namma Metro's Blue Line contractors, says no new work if deadlines slip

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday issued a sharp directive to contractors of Namma Metro's Blue Line (airport corridor), instructing them to adhere strictly to the deadlines, and warning that failure to meet targets would lead to blacklisting from future contracts. 

Following an inspection of the ongoing metro work at Kodigehalli, Shivakumar informed the media about the phase-wise completion targets committed by the contracting agencies. 

"We have instructed the contractors to complete the Blue Line within the stipulated time," he noted. 

According to him, the KR Pura-Silk Board Junction section (19.75 km) will open by December 2026, Hebbal-airport (27.44 km) in June 2027, and KR Pura-Hebbal (11 km) by December 2027. 

The KR Pura-Silk Board deadline seems to have been quietly pushed again, from September to December 2027. 

He also announced plans to begin train operations on completed sections of the Blue Line. "We are considering starting train services once 5-6 stations are completed." 

The entire line, running from Silk Board to the airport, will feature 30 stations, he noted. 

The 58.19-km line has been divided into five packages. While Afcons Infrastructure is constructing the Silk Board Junction-Kadubeesanahalli stretch and SNC Construction Kadubeesanahalli-Baiyappanahalli, NCC Ltd is building three packages between Benniganahalli and the airport. 

Work on the KR Pura-Hebbal section (11 km) was suspended for nine months following a fatal accident in HBR Layout in January 2023. 

"Whether it is NCC or any other contractor, if they fail to complete the work within the fixed timeline, they will not be given any work in the future. Our primary objective is project implementation,” Shivakumar asserted, noting that two other contractors (Afcons and SNC) were performing well. 

The DyCM acknowledged that work had slowed down following the 2023 fatal accident, forcing a restriction on construction activities primarily to the night hours to manage heavy traffic congestion. 

He also addressed specific site issues where he stated that launching girders would not be allowed to move outside the city until the work in the area was complete. 

Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Girinath has been assigned the responsibility of overseeing the project’s progress. 

BMRCL Managing Director J Ravishankar and other senior officials were present on the occasion. 

The DyCM's review came just two days after Revenue Minister and Byatarayanapura MLA Krishna Byre Gowda inspected the metro works from Nagawara to Allalasandra. He publicly berated the contractor, asking whether constructing a metro pillar was "rocket science". 

A view of the metro construction on the Blue Line.