Namma Metro scales down Hebbal depot plan from 45 to 9 acres

Bengaluru: Bowing to the real estate lobby, Namma Metro has scaled down its land requirement at Hebbal from a little over 45 acres to just 9 acres.

The move suggests that the transport utility has dropped its original plan of building a full-fledged stabling depot on the northern side, intended to serve the 36.59-km Hebbal–Sarjapur metro line.

In its revised proposal submitted to the Department of Commerce and Industries, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has retained the plan of building just the multi-modal hub, sources said. Even the idea of building a mini and elevated depot appears to be out of consideration after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) proposed constructing an entrance to the 14-km tunnel road at Hebbal, it is learnt.

The BMRCL began redrawing its Hebbal plan approximately 40 days after a high-level meeting convened by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Minister for Commerce and Industries MB Patil.

In the meeting, Namma Metro was asked to scale down its ambitious infrastructure plans at Hebbal, which included a stabling depot, multi-level parking, and a multi-modal integration facility, among others.

The 45 acres of land at Hebbal were originally notified for Lake View Tourism Corporation in May 2004 — about 21 years ago. However, the private entity defaulted on compensation payments to landowners, leaving the acquisition incomplete to this day. Currently, the land is under the custody of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), while the affected landowners still await compensation.

In July 2024, Namma Metro offered to purchase the 45 acres for an estimated total of Rs 551.15 crore, with a plan to use the land for train induction not only for the Sarjapur–Hebbal line, but also to support services on the JP Nagar 4th Phase–Kempapura and KR Puram–Kempegowda International Airport lines.

Subsequently, multiple meetings were held to facilitate the transfer of land from KIADB to Namma Metro. However, a few real estate developers began pressuring the government to revive the 2004 agreement, which included plans for commercial development. The builders reportedly cited a court order allowing the private party to acquire the land at outdated compensation rates, it is learnt.

There are, however, two instances where the state government in the past had transferred KIADB land for public projects: four acres to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a road project, and 6,712 square metres to Namma Metro for constructing a station and a viaduct on the airport line.