Bengaluru: Wind Tunnel Road widening project cancelled

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has failed to acquire land from the Defence department (HAL) for Bellandur Ward's Wind Tunnel Road Development Project. As a result, the project has been cancelled. The Rs 65 crore earmarked for the project has been allocated to 102 works in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency.

The Wind Tunnel Road is an alternative to the Old Airport Road to connect the outer ring road. It was proposed in 2018 to widen the narrow road. The government also approved Rs 65 crore budget in 2019 under the chief minister's Nava Bengaluru Kriya Yojane.

The BBMP Planning Division has also prepared the project for road widening and development. The land acquisition process was also initiated. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also convened a road extension meeting. There was also an agreement between BBMP and HAL. But the HAL refused to give up the land needed for the road expansion.

Meanwhile, Mahadevapura MLA Arvind Limbavali had written to the BBMP Chief Commissioner on December 30, 2021, requesting transfer of the grant to projects in his constituency. Based on request, the Chief Commissioner forwarded the MLA's proposal to the government which scrapped the Rind Tunnel Road widening on January 18 and allocated the Rs 65 crore to proposed works in the Mahadevpura constituency.

The move has upset locals as the ruling BJP both in State and at Centre failed to persuade the Defence department to give up some land for the key road widening. Old Airport Road is always choke-a-block with traffic. The only other alternative for people to reach the outer ring road is through the Marathahalli junction. Locals say that this stretch of the road would allow IT companies to use Wind Tunnel Road if it was widened.

Despite being an IT corridor in Bengaluru, Bellandur has no major infrastructure. Land acquisition is a major obstacle to road expansion projects. Shelving of the Wind Tunnel Road expansion is a setback to smooth flow of traffic. Sarjapur Road, Kasavanahalli Road and Harlur Road Overbridge pose similar obstacles.

In September, Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai had promised in the Assembly that the TDR policy for land acquisition would be revised and implemented by December. But nothing has happened. A local resident, Kasavanahalli Vishnuprasad has demanded that the TDR policy be revised and implemented immediately. All efforts were made to acquire land from HAL for road expansion. But the authorities there did not agree.

BBMP Chief Engineer (Planning) M Lokesh has confirmed that the government has allocated road widening funds to other projects. HAL officials had initially agreed to give up the land. He said later they made a U-turn saying that the road was not necessary for them.