The Elevated Corridor Project looks at covering a distance of 102 km with six corridors, three main and three connecting ones. It is estimated to cost anywhere between 25,000 crores and 26,000 crores including land acquisition cost and is expected to be in place by 2025-2026. The Public Works Department will implement it through the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL).

The 22.12-km corridor from Baptist Hospital to Silk Board Junction, which is a part of the ambitious elevated network project, will cross busy parts of the Central Business District, intercept the metro’s Purple line and Richmond Circle flyover. This could also result in the axing of over 3700 trees along the stretch of the corridor.

The North-South corridor is likely to take a heavy toll on the green cover on Jayamahal Road and Queens Road. It will run adjacent to Cubbon Park from Minsk Square to Kasturba Road where full-grown trees are seen on either side of the road. Cubbon Park is the lung area of Bengaluru. The Corridor will destroy 120 fully grown trees in Cubbon Park.
The report said that other than impacting the trees, the city’s already dwindling lakes will be further impacted due to this project.

More then 1 lakh signature has been received on an online petition

Kumaraswamy-led Karnataka government collectively received a massive number of protest against the elevated corridor. Online petitions which included Change org. and Jhatkaa collectively received more than 1 lakh signatures opposing the project and still counting.

The petitions were filed after it emerged that 120 trees in the Cubbon Park area will be axed down to make way for the elevated corridor on Queen’s Road. The study conducted by consultants Aecom, Deloitte and Infra Support, accessed by TNM, says that 858 trees in “sensitive wooded stretches” including Cubbon Park and Coles Park, will be cut down for the project.

In all, more than 3700 trees are set to be axed and also impacting the already dwindling lakes to build the elevated corridors in the city.

The residents included people residing in Koramangala, Whitefield, Bellandur, Sarjapur, Cox Town among other areas who pledged their support in favor of an expansion of the road network in the city.

Saturday 16th March at 10 am a huge protest is been planned by activists and residents in the city at the Gandhi Statue in Maurya Circle. The protest against the elevated corridor project is being supported by nearly 35 organizations from across Bengaluru.

High court’s role

The Karnataka High Court has asked the government to rest the controversial elevated corridor project. The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited had rapidly floated tenders, has been stopped in its tracks by the Karnataka High Court. Acting Chief Justice Narayana Swamy and Justice Dinesh Kumar on Wednesday asked the state government not to proceed further in the matter until a case on the functioning of the Bangalore Metropolitan Committee is disposed of. The next date of hearing has been fixed on March 19.

The case was filed by Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Citizen’s Action Forum to the functioning of the Metropolitan Planning Committee which is the constitutionally mandated body for the city’s planning purpose.

The High Court today has passed an order which has effectively meant a stay. It has said any other large-scale projects including the elevated corridor project and those being undertaken cannot proceed further until this case is disposed of.

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