Sarjapur Road to be 150 ft wide: BBMP set to acquire 20.5 acres

BENGALURU:  A part of Sarjapur Road, the  busy Southeast Bengaluru  thoroughfare  dotted with information technology companies,  is soon going to be 150 feet wide under a Rs 84.5-crore project.  

The Bengaluru Development and Town Planning Department has invited tenders for widening 4.7 kilometres of Sarjapur Road from the Iblur junction to the Chikkakannahalli railway bridge. The  Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) intends to acquire 20.5 acres of land and intends to issue  Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs) to property owners.  

The road  will be developed under the TenderSURE model. Each lane will have an 11-metre-wide main road, a 1.2-metre-wide stormwater drain, a 5.5-metre-wide service road and a three-metre-wide footpath. The pavement will have  utilities such as drinking water kiosks, sewage water pipes and OFC cables.

A  senior official of the BBMP said the utility  lines would be accommodated on either side so that the road  would not be dug up. The  stormwater drain (rajakaluve) will  suck in  the rainwater, preventing potholes, he added.  

IT companies, including  Infosys and Wipro, have offices on  Sarjapur Road.  With thousands of people  travelling  for work, the road  sees huge traffic. H K Srinath, who works at a private company, hoped the project would help commuters.  

Local residents, however, say the road need not be widened to 150 feet. Just a 100-foot-wide road will do, they say, reasoning that a metro line has been proposed  on the stretch. The Revised Master Plan-2031, however, states that the road would  be  widened to 150 feet with a  three-foot grade separator in between.  

For their part, property owners do not want the TDR for parting with their land. They want monetary compensation and have warned of going to the court if the BBMP doesn't heed the demand.  

DH News Service