<p>Bengaluru: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/bengaluru-karnataka-india/2">Bengaluru</a> South MP <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/tejasvi-surya">Tejasvi Surya</a> has written to Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE), seeking public consultations and the immediate disclosure of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for a series of proposed elevated corridor projects across the city.</p>.<p>In a letter addressed to B-SMILE Director (Technical) B S Prahallad on Saturday, Surya said several of the flyovers for which tenders have recently been floated fall partly or entirely within the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency. He urged the agency to place the DPRs in the public domain and conduct consultations with elected representatives, residents, commuters and experts before proceeding further.</p>.<p>Among the projects for which B-SMILE has recently called tenders is the proposed elevated corridor from Minerva Circle to Hudson Circle, along with a loop flyover linking the Balagangadharanatha Swamiji Flyover to Town Hall. Surya also referred to a 5.2-km elevated corridor connecting Old Madras Road to Electronics City via Swami Vivekananda Metro Station, Indiranagar, Old Airport Road and Hosur Road up to Silk Board Junction, and a 5.3-km elevated corridor from Shoolay Circle to St John’s Hospital Road through Anepalya and Adugodi junctions.</p>.<p>Other proposed corridors include stretches on Pipeline Road, Tumakuru Road, Konanakunte Cross and Kanakapura Road.</p>.B-SMILE floats tenders for nine flyovers across Bengaluru.<p>Surya said that under the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) Act, the authority is empowered to review and grant prior approval for urban mobility and infrastructure projects in the city. He claimed the proposed flyovers had not received such approval and questioned whether they had undergone independent scrutiny.</p>.<p>IISc professor and urban mobility expert Ashish Verma agreed. “The permanent and sustainable solution for all of the city’s traffic-related problems is to move towards shared, electric and active mobility. This will contribute to making the city more livable. Flyovers or any such road infrastructure interventions are not the solution. These interventions don’t eliminate congestion, but only shift it to other parts of the city. We’ve witnessed this,” he explained.</p>.<p>Speaking to DH, a B-SMILE official said that public consultations were not the norm when it comes to large-scale infrastructure projects. “It is experts who decide infrastructure projects. Here, infrastructure projects are being politicised. When the said MP’s government was in power, they too pushed for flyovers across the city,” he said.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/bengaluru-karnataka-india/2">Bengaluru</a> South MP <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/tejasvi-surya">Tejasvi Surya</a> has written to Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE), seeking public consultations and the immediate disclosure of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for a series of proposed elevated corridor projects across the city.</p>.<p>In a letter addressed to B-SMILE Director (Technical) B S Prahallad on Saturday, Surya said several of the flyovers for which tenders have recently been floated fall partly or entirely within the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency. He urged the agency to place the DPRs in the public domain and conduct consultations with elected representatives, residents, commuters and experts before proceeding further.</p>.<p>Among the projects for which B-SMILE has recently called tenders is the proposed elevated corridor from Minerva Circle to Hudson Circle, along with a loop flyover linking the Balagangadharanatha Swamiji Flyover to Town Hall. Surya also referred to a 5.2-km elevated corridor connecting Old Madras Road to Electronics City via Swami Vivekananda Metro Station, Indiranagar, Old Airport Road and Hosur Road up to Silk Board Junction, and a 5.3-km elevated corridor from Shoolay Circle to St John’s Hospital Road through Anepalya and Adugodi junctions.</p>.<p>Other proposed corridors include stretches on Pipeline Road, Tumakuru Road, Konanakunte Cross and Kanakapura Road.</p>.B-SMILE floats tenders for nine flyovers across Bengaluru.<p>Surya said that under the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) Act, the authority is empowered to review and grant prior approval for urban mobility and infrastructure projects in the city. He claimed the proposed flyovers had not received such approval and questioned whether they had undergone independent scrutiny.</p>.<p>IISc professor and urban mobility expert Ashish Verma agreed. “The permanent and sustainable solution for all of the city’s traffic-related problems is to move towards shared, electric and active mobility. This will contribute to making the city more livable. Flyovers or any such road infrastructure interventions are not the solution. These interventions don’t eliminate congestion, but only shift it to other parts of the city. We’ve witnessed this,” he explained.</p>.<p>Speaking to DH, a B-SMILE official said that public consultations were not the norm when it comes to large-scale infrastructure projects. “It is experts who decide infrastructure projects. Here, infrastructure projects are being politicised. When the said MP’s government was in power, they too pushed for flyovers across the city,” he said.</p>
