14-05-2025
Bengaluru civic body to spend over Rs 50 crore on consultancy firms for big-ticket infra projects
Rs 53.7 crore. That is how much the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is set to spend on consultancy firms and financial advisors as part of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's Brand Bengaluru initiatives aimed at decongesting the state capital and streamlining mobility in the city.
The BBMP has already spent over Rs 14 crore on preparing a detailed project report (DPR) and a pre-feasibility report for the tunnel road and elevated corridor projects in Bengaluru. This includes Rs 9.5 crore paid to Rodic Consultants for a DPR of the 18-km Hebbal-Silk Board tunnel road and Rs 4.7 crore to Turkey-based Altinok Consulting for the feasibility study, which proposes a 170-km network including the 46-km tunnel roads (North-South and East-West corridors) and 124.7 km of elevated corridors, double-deckers, and underpasses.
Additionally, the BBMP is set to spend over Rs 9 crore after shortlisting Rodic Consultants once again for preparing the DPR of the east-west tunnel road connecting KR Puram and Nayandahalli. The BBMP is also set to incur a cost of Rs 22 crore for consultancy services from like Siddhi Consulting Engineers, Nagesh Consultants, and Infra Support for preparing the DPR for four elevated corridors.
Further, BBMP has also hired Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as financial advisors for 21 weeks at a cost of Rs 8.5 crore. This comes close on the heels of the state government appointing BCG as financial advisors at a cost of Rs 9.5 crore primarily to address financial pressures and boost revenue to fund its ambitious welfare schemes and infrastructure projects. The mandate was to enhance tax and non-tax revenues, streamline expenditures, plug financial leakages, and explore innovative funding sources like public-private partnerships (PPPs).
According to BBMP officials, New-Delhi based Rodic Consultants, which was criticised for its 'shoddy' executive summary of the north-south tunnel road DPR, has once again been shortlisted by the civic agency. In fact, a three-member panel headed by BMRCL executives was also formed to verify the technical and other aspects of the DPR. Meanwhile, the government is yet to officially approve the BBMP's decision to go ahead with the only single bid of Rodic Consultants for preparing the east-west tunnel road DPR. The New Delhi-based consultancy firm came under severe public scrutiny for an alleged 'copy-paste' job of the north-south tunnel road project DPR. The BBMP also slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the firm for a 'compiling error' during preparation of the executive summary of the DPR.
The civic agency has shortlisted Siddhi Consulting Engineers for preparing a DPR for an elevated corridor connecting Old Madras Road to Madiwala. Nagesh Consultants will be tasked with a DPR for a flyover/underpass along Kanakapura Road, and Infra Support is shortlisted for preparing a DPR for an elevated corridor connecting Nagawara and Bagalur Junction and a corridor connecting Old Madras Road and Yeshwantpur.
'The objective is to plan for road infrastructure that will last in Bengaluru for the next 25-30 years. We have given the consultants 60 days to prepare the DPR for the four elevated corridor projects. The government is yet to approve it,' said a BBMP official. The consultants have been tasked with developing comprehensive traffic surveys, alignment plans, land acquisition schedules (if any), structural designs and other related detailed field studies.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has allocated a budget of Rs 7,000 crore for the BBMP in 2025-26. Additionally, the government has stood as a guarantor for Rs 19,000 crore to support the BBMP's Rs 40,000-crore tunnel road projects.
Criticising the staggering consultancy expenditure, Satya Arikutharam, an urban mobility expert, said, 'It is becoming clearer that the yet-to-be-established BMLTA's (Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority) oversight is sorely missed by the city. The BBMP's consultancy expedition is not only wasteful, it also severely hurts the cause of sustainable public transport.'
'Expect multiple Ejipuras dotting the city for decades if the government succeeds in pushing these half-baked schemes,' Arikutharam added, referring to the long-delayed construction of a flyover at Ejipura in the city.
Sanath Prasad is a senior sub-editor and reporter with the Bengaluru bureau of Indian Express. He covers education, transport, infrastructure and trends and issues integral to Bengaluru. He holds more than two years of reporting experience in Karnataka. His major works include the impact of Hijab ban on Muslim girls in Karnataka, tracing the lives of the victims of Kerala cannibalism, exploring the trends in dairy market of Karnataka in the aftermath of Amul-Nandini controversy, and Karnataka State Elections among others. If he is not writing, he keeps himself engaged with badminton, swimming, and loves exploring. ... Read More
