Citizens’ groups up in arms over steel flyover project

October 01, 2016 12:00 am | Updated November 01, 2016 10:15 pm IST - Bengaluru:

The State Cabinet may have cleared the construction of a steel flyover on Ballari Road, but the project has run into severe opposition from various citizens’ groups and urban mobility experts. A petition against the project on change.org has been widely circulated. It is likely that the project will be challenged in the court.

A prominent civic group, along with residents’ welfare associations from areas that will be affected, said they were preparing to file a public interest litigation (PIL) petition challenging the project. Two meetings have been held, the latest one was on Friday. “The project will be questioned on the grounds of lack of public consultation, the heavy green costs and the focus on private transport over public transport,” the activist involved said.

Meanwhile, the next big challenge for the steel flyover project will be at Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC), where the project should ideally be tabled for approval. BDA Commissioner Rajkumar Khatri said it was left to the government’s discretion whether or not to place it before the BMPC. However, pressure has been mounting on the government to place such big projects before the BMPC, failing which it will only add to the legal arsenal of those challenging the project, sources said.

Rajya Sabha member and BMPC Rajeev Chandrasekhar is the only one who has openly criticised the project. “I have no hesitation in referring to this project as purely contractor and politically driven, since the proposed project is neither citizen driven nor plan driven. It is a blatant misuse of public money and is illegal, as the proposed project is not placed before the constitutionally set up BMPC and there was no public consultation held before preparing the detailed project report. It must be placed before the BMPC where again it must be discussed openly and approved with public consultation.”

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