Days after the Karnataka Government urged Wipro to allow public vehicles inside its Sarjapur campus to ease traffic congestion at Iblur Junction on Outer Ring Road, the company has expressed its inability to do so. At the same time, it has offered to finance a significant portion of the cost for a world-class study to provide a solution for the traffic congestion in Bengaluru.
A September 24 letter from Azim Premji, Founder Chairman of Wipro, to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the company apprehended “significant legal, governance, and statutory challenges since it is an exclusive private property owned by a listed company not intended for public thoroughfare”. The letter noted that Wipro’s Sarjapur campus was a special economic zone providing services to global customers.
“….our contractual conditions mandate stringent, non-negotiable access control norms for governance and compliance. Moreover, public vehicular movement through a private property would not be effective as a sustainable, long-term solution,” the letter said.
On September 19, Siddaramaiah wrote to Wipro requesting the company to allow vehicular traffic through its Sarjapur campus to reduce congestion on Outer Ring Road. This would reduce the gridlock at Iblur Junction by around 30 per cent during peak hours, the chief minister had said.
Cooperation by the IT major would “go a long way in easing traffic bottlenecks, enhancing commuter experience, and contributing to a more efficient and livable Bengaluru”, Siddaramaiah wrote in the letter, requesting Wipro to engage with government officials to work out a mutually acceptable plan at the earliest.
Premji said that Wipro would partner with the Government “to find a lasting solution for Bengaluru’s mobility challenges”. The problem’s complexity, stemming from multiple factors, suggests that there is unlikely to be a “single-point solution or a silver bullet” to resolve it, he said.
“The most effective path forward is to commission a comprehensive, scientific study led by an entity with world-class expertise in urban transport management. Such an exercise would allow us to develop a holistic roadmap of effective solutions that are implementable in the short, medium, and long term. To demonstrate our commitment to being a part of the solution, Wipro will be pleased to engage in this process and underwrite a significant portion of the cost for this expert study,” the letter added.