BJP leader dares DK Shivakumar to open debate on Bengaluru tunnel road project

India Today

17-07-2025

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya dared Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to an open debate on the controversial tunnel road project in Bengaluru, calling it an 'unscientific' and 'elitist' initiative that will worsen the city's traffic woes. Surya's challenge comes in response to the Karnataka Congress's post on X on July 16, in which the party defended the Rs 18,500 crore project and dismissed Surya's earlier criticism as 'misleading, political pandering and short-sighted.'advertisementThe back-and-forth between the Karnataka Congress and Surya began after the Bengaluru South MP posted a statement on X on July 14, calling the 18-kilometre tunnel between Hebbal and Central Silk Board as a 'vanity project' for the rich. 'When the Deputy Chief Minister himself says that even God can't fix Bengaluru traffic, he's revealing his own incompetence rather than working on solutions. We don't need divine intervention — we need competent governance,' he wrote.Surya claimed the tunnel road would primarily serve 'the crorepatis of Sadashivanagar and the millionaires and billionaires of Koramangala fourth block', with the proposed toll of Rs 660 pricing out the common man. He argued that the Congress-led state government was undermining public transport and prioritising private vehicle infrastructure, despite studies warning of increased congestion.
The Bengaluru South MP also questioned the project's economic rationale, saying it demanded a viability gap funding of Rs 7,100 crore and cost more than major national infrastructure like the Atal Tunnel, Mumbai Coastal Road, and the 655-kilometre Trivandrum–Kasargod highway. 'Why is this tunnel road so expensive? At whose cost is the Congress, the Deputy Chief Minister and the Chief Minister trying to loot the state?' he asked.He alleged the project would benefit contractors and the Congress party, not the public. 'We will fight this by exploring every possible means at our disposal. We will fight inside the courts, the Vidhana Soudha, and the Parliament. We will build public momentum so that this project, which is going to be a disaster for the city, will never see its daylight,' he said.Surya also flagged irregularities in the Rs 9.5 crore Detailed Project Report (DPR), alleging it contained references to Malegaon and Nashik and was partly copied from the Metro DPR, which cost only Rs 1.6 crore. He claimed one of the consultants involved was debarred in a National Highways Authority of India project in Madhya Pradesh and linked the authors to a Rs 500 crore scam in Jammu and Kashmir.He pointed out that the project had not been cleared by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA), which is mandatory under Section 19 of the BMLTA Act. 'Bengaluru is not just a city, it's the beating heart of modern India, and it deserves infrastructure that matches its global stature,' Surya said, calling for investment in Metro, Suburban Rail and BMTC buses instead.The Karnataka Congress, responding on July 16, accused Surya of 'misleading' the public and dismissed his criticism as 'political pandering'. It defended the tunnel as a vital, signal-free, high-capacity corridor forming part of a larger multimodal mobility vision, alongside Metro expansion (over 70 km under construction), Suburban Rail (148 km), BMTC upgrades, ring roads, and arterial road improvements.advertisementFar from being elitist, the party claimed the project would reduce surface congestion and indirectly help the 90 per cent of commuters who rely on public or non-motorised transport. 'You've rightly stressed the importance of public transport, but progress is not a zero-sum game. Roads and rail must co-exist,' it said.Congress cited its urban transport investments under the United Progressive Alliance government and said Shivakumar was continuing that legacy with 'bold multimodal interventions'. 'We welcome public audits, technical scrutiny, and open debate. But don't stall progress by labelling every transformative project as wasteful. Citizens deserve efficient execution, not polarised discourse,' it added.On July 17, Surya replied on X: 'Good Morning. If you truly welcome technical scrutiny and public debate on this tunnel road project, I propose an open discussion with Hon. DCM Sri @DKShivakumar who is spearheading this project. Let the time and place be of your choosing Am waiting to hear back from you.'- Ends
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