The Bangalore Vision Group (BVG) on Thursday asked the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to make a presentation before it on the controversial project to build a flyover between Basaveshwara Circle and Hebbal.
This comes a day after Bengaluru Development Minister K J George opened up on the project, and the BDA released a 10-page document on its website, listing the salient features of the proposed flyover.
"We have asked the BDA engineering team to make a presentation to the BVG on the salient features of the project and to also assess the alternatives available and examine if they can be implemented. We also want the details of the study on the volume of traffic on the route. The present cost of the project is too high. We will discuss if the cost can be reduced and steel mixed with concrete so that taxpayers are not burdened," said Vivek Menon, BVG member and advisor to the state government on infrastructure issues. He stressed that connectivity to the Kempegowda International Airport was important and that the government must provide it.
Menon, however, clarified that the BVG didn't intend to "rehash" the project, but said there was a need to understand the logic behind such a huge investment. "We want the presentation by this weekend but the BDA is yet to get back to us. We called the BDA because it neither consulted us before submitting the project to the Cabinet nor consulted the public," Menon added.
The BVG and the Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) were formed by the government to be the collective voice of the people. The BVG's aim is to be an objective listener and decision-maker.
Another member, who did not want to come on record, echoed concerns that the project required huge investment and axing of hundreds of trees. "To get these things cleared, we have sought the BDA's response. But we are yet to hear from it," the member added.
Project should be for city, not just airport: IIMB prof
»G Ramesh, associate professor, Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), has said that all projects should be for the city, not just for the airport-bound public.
"Even if there is logic behind the flyover project, the government should satisfy the public through consultation. Public reservations should be looked at seriously. It is good to present alternatives to the public rather than sticking to just one solution. The government should come up with solutions which ease traffic in the city rather than configuring the city for airport. Also, it should look at pedestrians as much as automobiles," he said.
Ramesh saw no harm if the project was really planned to ease congestion in the city.
"But if it is easing travel to the airport, that is stretching it too far. Airport exists for the city, not the other way round. Even earlier, we should have gone for a train link to the airport rather than an elevated road. We are defying the global trend. Nowhere are there elevated roads to the airport," Ramesh added.
MoEF clearance must for flyover: IISc researcher
»T V Ramachandra, co-ordinator, Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), said the Bangalore Development Authority's (BDA) stand that clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was not required for the flyover project was a "misguided one".
"The project is neither people-friendly nor environment-friendly. It requires environmental clearance considering the likelihood of damage to the environment. Strengthening public transport is the only solution.
"We need to decongest the city and move major installations out of Bengaluru. The money wasted on Bengaluru could be used in other districts so that industries can move there," he said.
L&T yet to get go-ahead from government
»Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the company which won the contract to build the steel flyover through bidding and negotiations, has not yet received any government order to start work on the project. A representative of the company said they would talk on the project only after getting an official letter to start the work.
Only three access points to flyover: Firm which made DPR
»Access to the proposed steel flyover will be limited to just three points — Mehkri Circle, Hebbal and High Grounds, a representative of STUP Consultants Pvt Ltd, the firm which prepared the detailed project report, told DHon condition of anonymity.
Access control means that motorists cannot get down from the flyover everywhere since the elevated road will be focused towards the airport and the highway only. The flyover can take a speed of over 80 kmph, but that does not mean that two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws cannot ply.
The flyover will be strong enough to take the load of fire tenders, trucks and military tankers, but access to heavy vehicles will be from certain points only, the representative said.
The steel flyover has been designed in such a way that there is no need to demolish any concrete structure for adding more loops, the way it was done for the Hebbal flyover.
The future plan of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is to add more loops as and when traffic increases in the city. So in case of steel, the barriers will be removed and loops will be added, he explained.
![]( "A miniature model of the proposed steel flyover created by an architect.")
The Bangalore Vision Group (BVG) on Thursday asked the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to make a presentation before it on the controversial project to build a flyover between Basaveshwara Circle and Hebbal.
This comes a day after Bengaluru Development Minister K J George opened up on the project, and the BDA released a 10-page document on its website, listing the salient features of the proposed flyover.
"We have asked the BDA engineering team to make a presentation to the BVG on the salient features of the project and to also assess the alternatives available and examine if they can be implemented. We also want the details of the study on the volume of traffic on the route. The present cost of the project is too high. We will discuss if the cost can be reduced and steel mixed with concrete so that taxpayers are not burdened,” said Vivek Menon, BVG member and advisor to the state government on infrastructure issues. He stressed that connectivity to the Kempegowda International Airport was important and that the government must provide it.
Menon, however, clarified that the BVG didn’t intend to "rehash” the project, but said there was a need to understand the logic behind such a huge investment. "We want the presentation by this weekend but the BDA is yet to get back to us. We called the BDA because it neither consulted us before submitting the project to the Cabinet nor consulted the public,” Menon added.
The BVG and the Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) were formed by the government to be the collective voice of the people. The BVG’s aim is to be an objective listener and decision-maker.
Another member, who did not want to come on record, echoed concerns that the project required huge investment and axing of hundreds of trees. "To get these things cleared, we have sought the BDA’s response. But we are yet to hear from it,” the member added.
Project should be for city, not just airport: IIMB prof
»G Ramesh, associate professor, Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), has said that all projects should be for the city, not just for the airport-bound public.
"Even if there is logic behind the flyover project, the government should satisfy the public through consultation. Public reservations should be looked at seriously. It is good to present alternatives to the public rather than sticking to just one solution. The government should come up with solutions which ease traffic in the city rather than configuring the city for airport. Also, it should look at pedestrians as much as automobiles,” he said.
Ramesh saw no harm if the project was really planned to ease congestion in the city.
"But if it is easing travel to the airport, that is stretching it too far. Airport exists for the city, not the other way round. Even earlier, we should have gone for a train link to the airport rather than an elevated road. We are defying the global trend. Nowhere are there elevated roads to the airport,” Ramesh added.
MoEF clearance must for flyover: IISc researcher
»T V Ramachandra, co-ordinator, Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), said the Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) stand that clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was not required for the flyover project was a "misguided one”.
"The project is neither people-friendly nor environment-friendly. It requires environmental clearance considering the likelihood of damage to the environment. Strengthening public transport is the only solution.
"We need to decongest the city and move major installations out of Bengaluru. The money wasted on Bengaluru could be used in other districts so that industries can move there,” he said.
L&T yet to get go-ahead from government
»Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the company which won the contract to build the steel flyover through bidding and negotiations, has not yet received any government order to start work on the project. A representative of the company said they would talk on the project only after getting an official letter to start the work.
Only three access points to flyover: Firm which made DPR
»Access to the proposed steel flyover will be limited to just three points — Mehkri Circle, Hebbal and High Grounds, a representative of STUP Consultants Pvt Ltd, the firm which prepared the detailed project report, told DH on condition of anonymity.
Access control means that motorists cannot get down from the flyover everywhere since the elevated road will be focused towards the airport and the highway only. The flyover can take a speed of over 80 kmph, but that does not mean that two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws cannot ply.
The flyover will be strong enough to take the load of fire tenders, trucks and military tankers, but access to heavy vehicles will be from certain points only, the representative said.
The steel flyover has been designed in such a way that there is no need to demolish any concrete structure for adding more loops, the way it was done for the Hebbal flyover.
The future plan of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is to add more loops as and when traffic increases in the city. So in case of steel, the barriers will be removed and loops will be added, he explained.
This comes a day after Bengaluru Development Minister K J George opened up on the project, and the BDA released a 10-page document on its website, listing the salient features of the proposed flyover.
"We have asked the BDA engineering team to make a presentation to the BVG on the salient features of the project and to also assess the alternatives available and examine if they can be implemented. We also want the details of the study on the volume of traffic on the route. The present cost of the project is too high. We will discuss if the cost can be reduced and steel mixed with concrete so that taxpayers are not burdened," said Vivek Menon, BVG member and advisor to the state government on infrastructure issues. He stressed that connectivity to the Kempegowda International Airport was important and that the government must provide it.
Menon, however, clarified that the BVG didn't intend to "rehash" the project, but said there was a need to understand the logic behind such a huge investment. "We want the presentation by this weekend but the BDA is yet to get back to us. We called the BDA because it neither consulted us before submitting the project to the Cabinet nor consulted the public," Menon added.
The BVG and the Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) were formed by the government to be the collective voice of the people. The BVG's aim is to be an objective listener and decision-maker.
Another member, who did not want to come on record, echoed concerns that the project required huge investment and axing of hundreds of trees. "To get these things cleared, we have sought the BDA's response. But we are yet to hear from it," the member added.
Project should be for city, not just airport: IIMB prof
»G Ramesh, associate professor, Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), has said that all projects should be for the city, not just for the airport-bound public.
"Even if there is logic behind the flyover project, the government should satisfy the public through consultation. Public reservations should be looked at seriously. It is good to present alternatives to the public rather than sticking to just one solution. The government should come up with solutions which ease traffic in the city rather than configuring the city for airport. Also, it should look at pedestrians as much as automobiles," he said.
Ramesh saw no harm if the project was really planned to ease congestion in the city.
"But if it is easing travel to the airport, that is stretching it too far. Airport exists for the city, not the other way round. Even earlier, we should have gone for a train link to the airport rather than an elevated road. We are defying the global trend. Nowhere are there elevated roads to the airport," Ramesh added.
MoEF clearance must for flyover: IISc researcher
»T V Ramachandra, co-ordinator, Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), said the Bangalore Development Authority's (BDA) stand that clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was not required for the flyover project was a "misguided one".
"The project is neither people-friendly nor environment-friendly. It requires environmental clearance considering the likelihood of damage to the environment. Strengthening public transport is the only solution.
"We need to decongest the city and move major installations out of Bengaluru. The money wasted on Bengaluru could be used in other districts so that industries can move there," he said.
L&T yet to get go-ahead from government
»Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the company which won the contract to build the steel flyover through bidding and negotiations, has not yet received any government order to start work on the project. A representative of the company said they would talk on the project only after getting an official letter to start the work.
Only three access points to flyover: Firm which made DPR
»Access to the proposed steel flyover will be limited to just three points — Mehkri Circle, Hebbal and High Grounds, a representative of STUP Consultants Pvt Ltd, the firm which prepared the detailed project report, told DHon condition of anonymity.
Access control means that motorists cannot get down from the flyover everywhere since the elevated road will be focused towards the airport and the highway only. The flyover can take a speed of over 80 kmph, but that does not mean that two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws cannot ply.
The flyover will be strong enough to take the load of fire tenders, trucks and military tankers, but access to heavy vehicles will be from certain points only, the representative said.
The steel flyover has been designed in such a way that there is no need to demolish any concrete structure for adding more loops, the way it was done for the Hebbal flyover.
The future plan of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is to add more loops as and when traffic increases in the city. So in case of steel, the barriers will be removed and loops will be added, he explained.
The Bangalore Vision Group (BVG) on Thursday asked the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to make a presentation before it on the controversial project to build a flyover between Basaveshwara Circle and Hebbal. This comes a day after Bengaluru Development Minister K J George opened up on the project, and the BDA released a 10-page document on its website, listing the salient features of the proposed flyover.
"We have asked the BDA engineering team to make a presentation to the BVG on the salient features of the project and to also assess the alternatives available and examine if they can be implemented. We also want the details of the study on the volume of traffic on the route. The present cost of the project is too high. We will discuss if the cost can be reduced and steel mixed with concrete so that taxpayers are not burdened,” said Vivek Menon, BVG member and advisor to the state government on infrastructure issues. He stressed that connectivity to the Kempegowda International Airport was important and that the government must provide it.
Menon, however, clarified that the BVG didn’t intend to "rehash” the project, but said there was a need to understand the logic behind such a huge investment. "We want the presentation by this weekend but the BDA is yet to get back to us. We called the BDA because it neither consulted us before submitting the project to the Cabinet nor consulted the public,” Menon added.
The BVG and the Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) were formed by the government to be the collective voice of the people. The BVG’s aim is to be an objective listener and decision-maker.
Another member, who did not want to come on record, echoed concerns that the project required huge investment and axing of hundreds of trees. "To get these things cleared, we have sought the BDA’s response. But we are yet to hear from it,” the member added.
Project should be for city, not just airport: IIMB prof
»G Ramesh, associate professor, Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), has said that all projects should be for the city, not just for the airport-bound public.
"Even if there is logic behind the flyover project, the government should satisfy the public through consultation. Public reservations should be looked at seriously. It is good to present alternatives to the public rather than sticking to just one solution. The government should come up with solutions which ease traffic in the city rather than configuring the city for airport. Also, it should look at pedestrians as much as automobiles,” he said.
Ramesh saw no harm if the project was really planned to ease congestion in the city.
"But if it is easing travel to the airport, that is stretching it too far. Airport exists for the city, not the other way round. Even earlier, we should have gone for a train link to the airport rather than an elevated road. We are defying the global trend. Nowhere are there elevated roads to the airport,” Ramesh added.
MoEF clearance must for flyover: IISc researcher
»T V Ramachandra, co-ordinator, Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), said the Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) stand that clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was not required for the flyover project was a "misguided one”.
"The project is neither people-friendly nor environment-friendly. It requires environmental clearance considering the likelihood of damage to the environment. Strengthening public transport is the only solution.
"We need to decongest the city and move major installations out of Bengaluru. The money wasted on Bengaluru could be used in other districts so that industries can move there,” he said.
L&T yet to get go-ahead from government
»Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the company which won the contract to build the steel flyover through bidding and negotiations, has not yet received any government order to start work on the project. A representative of the company said they would talk on the project only after getting an official letter to start the work.
Only three access points to flyover: Firm which made DPR
»Access to the proposed steel flyover will be limited to just three points — Mehkri Circle, Hebbal and High Grounds, a representative of STUP Consultants Pvt Ltd, the firm which prepared the detailed project report, told DH on condition of anonymity.
Access control means that motorists cannot get down from the flyover everywhere since the elevated road will be focused towards the airport and the highway only. The flyover can take a speed of over 80 kmph, but that does not mean that two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws cannot ply.
The flyover will be strong enough to take the load of fire tenders, trucks and military tankers, but access to heavy vehicles will be from certain points only, the representative said.
The steel flyover has been designed in such a way that there is no need to demolish any concrete structure for adding more loops, the way it was done for the Hebbal flyover.
The future plan of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is to add more loops as and when traffic increases in the city. So in case of steel, the barriers will be removed and loops will be added, he explained.