Spectacle over substance? Govt picks Sky Deck, Metro depot sinks

Bengaluru: Place the Sky Deck on one side of a weighing scale and the Metro depot on the other. One is a towering 250-metre structure aimed at boosting tourism, while the other is critical transport infrastructure that would improve train frequency, reduce traffic, and connect the city to the airport.

Now ask: which carries more weight in terms of public value?

While the government has fast-tracked the Sky Deck project by allocating 41 acres of land in Kommaghatta on July 23, it has failed to show the same intent or political will to hand over an equal amount of land in Hebbal for Namma Metro’s depot. The reason: real estate developers also have their eyes on the same parcel.

Namma Metro’s original plan to build a stabling depot at Hebbal received a major setback on July 14, when a high-powered committee led by Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh slashed the land allocation from 45 acres to just nine. In the revised plan, BMRCL has dropped its plan to build a depot at Hebbal, a move expected to reduce train frequency on the upcoming Hebbal–Sarjapur Metro line (Phase 3A) and increase operational costs.

This decision came despite repeated assurances from both Deputy CM Shivakumar and Industries Minister MB Patil, who had promised to “protect Namma Metro’s interests” just months earlier. In the process, Metro has also lost a year’s time.

Bengaluru North MP Shobha Karandlaje, under whose constituency the Hebbal land falls, called the move a big injustice and a crime. In her letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, she warned that the decision would “choke the entry point of the city” and “hinder industrial growth in Bengaluru North.”

Striking parallels

Interestingly, both the Sky Deck site in Kommaghatta and the proposed Metro depot land in Hebbal bear striking similarities. These two properties were acquired by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) for different purposes nearly two decades ago, on behalf of private entities.

While one of the private developers – Lake View Tourism Corporation – is yet to compensate the landowners, the other – Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) – is under the scanner for acquiring more land than permitted under the 1997 Framework Agreement.

In the case of the 41 acres earmarked for the Sky Deck, the land ownership carries a different status. While the KIADB has executed sale deeds in favour of NICE in some cases, others technically remain with the government as the company did not pay the full amount. About 8 acres and 12 guntas of this is government property leased to the company.

The status of the Hebbal land is worse. In May 2004, KIADB notified 55 acres for Lake View Tourism Corporation. However, the company never paid compensation to the original landowners, leaving the acquisition incomplete for two decades.

In March last year, BMRCL offered to pay ₹12.10 crore per acre under the latest land acquisition norms. This proposal addressed two key issues: providing Namma Metro with a crucial plot between the city and airport for a depot and multimodal hub, and helping the KIADB compensate the original landowners.

When Lake View Tourism Corporation was given the first choice to compensate the farmers by paying ₹12.10 crore per acre, it challenged the offer, arguing that its acquisition process began before the 2013 Land Acquisition Act took effect. It also secured a stay, contending that KIADB’s notice was arbitrary and illegal.

The KIADB is, however, yet to challenge the order.

It is worth noting that while slashing Metro’s land requirement in a move that technically favoured a private company, the government did not take into account a recent high court order passed by Justice R Devadas.

The order had set aside the acquisition of several acres of land for the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project as the KIADB had failed to pass awards even 23 years after issuing final notifications. The court referred to multiple rulings of both the High Court and Supreme Court while quashing the land acquisition processes.

Urban mobility experts have criticised the government’s approach, pointing out that ministers and bureaucrats have sided with spectacle instead of substance.

“The entire land should be allocated to the Namma Metro. Public interest must take priority over private ambitions,” said Deepak C N, general secretary of Karnataka Rashtra Samithi, a political outfit.