The BJP will oppose the Bengaluru tunnel road project in Lok Sabha and the state Assembly, along with the petition against it in the Karnataka High Court, Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya said Wednesday.
The tunnel road project has attracted criticism from Surya and others over the past few weeks.
“The BJP as a party, we are opposing it. We will 100 per cent oppose it in Lok Sabha and the state Assembly,” Surya said, adding that the project was against the interests of the people. “We will fight it out in court and outside,” he said.
Recommending tram lanes to connect Metro lines in the city, Tejasvi Surya called for a Singapore-like freeze to stop the unlimited growth in the number of cars.
Sharing the presentation he made to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar a day earlier at a news conference, he said Shivakumar was not ready to listen to any alternative solutions to ease traffic congestion in the city.
The suggestions on tram lanes in the city and other alternatives were made “after visiting eight to 10 countries, consulting urban experts, (and) transport experts”. “Since he (Shivakumar) thinks that a tunnel is the only solution, he is not considering any other,” Surya told reporters.
The tunnel road is only for cars, the BJP leader said, arguing that the way ahead was to boost public transport. As in Singapore, there should be restrictions on the number of cars in Bengaluru, and the government should not issue new vehicle licenses, he added.
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Shivakumar responded, saying people of the city were “acknowledging that something is being done to ease congestion, due to the interest (of the government) in the project”. “We are confident of doing it.”
On the suggestion of tram lanes, he said that there was nothing wrong with implementing it. “First, they (the BJP) should secure funds from the Central government for these projects,” Shivakumar said, noting that the Union Minister of State for Railways, V Somanna, is an MP from the state.
“Let them do anything they want. Who will deny them?” he asked.
Save for Surya and Leader of Opposition R Ashok, none of the other BJP leaders in the city were opposing it, he added.
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On whether the project will suffer the same fate as the Steel flyover project in Bengaluru proposed during the previous Congress regime, he said, “We will do our job. We are interested in the project and will do it.”
Global tenders for the Rs 17,698 crore Bengaluru tunnel road project were floated in July this year by Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited for a three-lane underground twin-tunnel road from Hebbal Esteem Mall Junction to Silk Board Junction.
The tunnel, spanning 17 km, will have multiple entry and exit ramps, which the Karnataka Government says will reduce congestion in the city centre and shorten travel time for cars and buses.