Karnataka Cabinet okays Peripheral Ring Road project

The state Cabinet on Wednesday gave administrative approval for the Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project, which has been in the pipeline for over a decade.

The Cabinet has approved calling tenders for the project and the government wants to ensure its implementation soon, Law Minister J C Madhuswamy told reporters. The PRR is a 73.50-km stretch with a 100 metre-wide road. The idea is to connect Tumakuru and Hosur roads, via Hessaraghatta Road, Doddaballapur Road, Ballari Road, Hennur Road, Old Madras Road, Hoskote Road and Sarjapur Road. The cost of the project is about Rs 21,000 crore.

The government is planning to go ahead with the project on public-private partnership-design, build, finance, operate and transfer model (PPP-DBFOT). In this light, the Cabinet has decided to lease out the PRR for 50 years to a private firm, which will be in charge of land acquisition, construction and maintenance before transferring it to the government after the lease period.

The project has been on the back burner owing to land acquisition issues.

Recently, the Supreme Court directed resolution of the issue. The government has estimated the total land required for the project to be 2,560 acres.

A Cabinet note states that the outer ring road was meant to reduce congestion but it has stretched beyond its capacity. The PRR is a solution to traffic on the ORR, the note read.

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