Centre urged to take up work on satellite ring road around Bengaluru under Bharatmala project

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday called on Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and urged him to instruct the National Highways Authority of India to take up development of the remaining part of the Satellite Town Ring Road around Bengaluru under the Bharatmala Pariyojana.

The State government has agreed to bear 30% of the cost of land acquisition, which is around ₹1,560 crore. The development of the road would mitigate traffic congestion in the city, the Chief Minister said in a memorandum.

The Chief Minister also urged the Centre to upgrade several key roads in north Karnataka as national highways for providing economic impetus in the region by connecting industries and historical temples and places.

The Karnataka government has also sought funds of ₹184.85 crore from the Centre for repairing Arabail Ghat road in Yellapur, Uttara kannada district, and other ghat section roads which were damaged owing to heavy rain in July. A sum of ₹125 crore was needed to repair Arabail ghat road, the memorandum stated.

The Chief Minister called on Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Minister for Ayush, Ports and Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and held discussions on pending projects in the State.

Minister for Housing V. Somanna, Public Works Minister C.C. Patil, and Revenue Minister R. Ashok accompanied the Chief Minister.

'Construct 26-km tunnel in Shiradi Ghat'

The State has urged the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to take up construction of a 26-km tunnel bypass in Shiradi Ghat section between 237 km and 263 km on a joint venture, in association with the Japanese government.

The ghat section of the highway is key to connecting the route between Mangaluru and Bengaluru. The region receives heavy rainfall during the monsoon and is susceptible to landslips, disrupting traffic movement. To mitigate this problem, the Ministry has assigned the task of preparing the feasibility report to JICA, which in turn assigned it to the Ministry of Economic Trade and Industry of Japan, Mr. Bommai informed Mr. Gadkari on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Economic Trade and Industry of Japan conducted a feasibility study on tunnel bypass and estimated the cost of the project at ₹10,146 crore in 2015. The Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways has already included the project under 'Capital Development Project in Mountain Region' being implemented by JICA.