Tunnel road a ‘real estate project in disguise’, contend citizen groups

Published 10 August 2026 · local

Citizens opposing the Congress government’s ambitious tunnel road project have termed it “a real estate project in disguise.” The citizens’ group Bengaluru Praja Vedike (BPV)

Citizens opposing the Congress government’s ambitious tunnel road project have termed it “a real estate project in disguise.” The citizens’ group Bengaluru Praja Vedike (BPV), which is at the forefront of the campaign against the project, has written to all the city’s MLAs and MPs, urging them to reject it. In a letter addressed to them, the group has termed it a “vanity infrastructure that repeats flyover failures” and urged them to embrace “evidence-based planning”. They have alleged that ancillary revenue in the form of real estate is being given “free” to the concessionaire, which they estimate could be as high as ₹30,000 crore for the entire concession period. Coming ahead of the Monsoon Session of the Karnataka legislature, starting on August 13, this is expected to give the Opposition further ammunition, keen to put Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar in a tight spot. Intermodal hubs The draft concession agreement shows that the concessionaire is required to build intermodal hubs at the vertical shaft points to create parking spaces. These will come up at five key junctions: Hebbal, Palace Grounds/Mehkri Circle, Race Course, Lalbagh and Silk Board. A total of 6.13 acres of land at these locations will be handed over by the government to the concessionaire. Documents show that the intermodal hubs will be five-floor plazas, comprising a platform level, a services floor, a car parking floor, and two floors for retail space.

Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd. (B-SMILE) estimates that these hubs could generate annual revenues of ₹250 crore to ₹300 crore for the concessionaire. The draft concession agreement states that this revenue, termed “ancillary revenue”, “will not be included in the calculations for review of the concession period”. The concession period is 30 years, extendable up to 40 years. Contentions in three PILs challenging tunnel road project in High Court of Karnataka On July 16, the HC directed that any contract entered into for the tunnel road project will be subject to the outcome of the three PIL petitions challenging the project. The court stated that the government should inform the contractors in writing that the contract would be subject to the final outcome of the petitions. Next hearing is on August 20. Statutory non-compliance Violation of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Authority Act, 2022 - BMLTA not formed at all. Act mandates all urban mobility projects have to get its approval. Act insists all projects to be part of CMP, DULT’s technical review Project neither part of the Revised Master Plan - 2015 nor planned as a part of the master plan preparation process, violating Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961 No scrutiny of the project by Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) violating Article 243ZE of the Constitution of India Environmental concerns No Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) done - State Environment Impact Assessment Authority-Karnataka exempted the project from EIA despite Ministry of Road Transport and Highways mandating EIA for tunnels longer than 1.5 km The tunnel alignment cuts through billion-year-old Peninsular Gneiss at Lalbagh, a Geological Monument as declared by Geological Survey of India Disrupts groundwater flow in hard rock terrain affecting hundreds of borewells in Bengaluru and aquifers; damaging storm water valley of Habbal Lake and overflow canal to Nagawara Lakes and risks urban flooding.