Bengaluru Metro Acquired 1,691 Properties For Road Widening And Infrastructure Works, Worth Rs 1,754 Crore

The necessary procurement of properties for road widening works, to facilitate the development of the Bengaluru Metro has been done at a cost of Rs 1,754, while for the required shifting of power utilities, the authorities spent an additional Rs 82.89 crore, reports Deccan Herald.

As per officials, the widening of roads and relocation of power utilities were executed to acquire the required right of way (RoW) for constructing the metro corridors, stations, and other necessary infrastructure.

Overall, Namma Metro has procured a total of 1,691 properties — to develop 1.76 lakh square metres of new roads. The acquisition of these lands came at an average cost of Rs 9,000 per square foot.

A significant portion of the total expenditure was allocated for phase-II of the Metro network — with Rs 1,483 crore spent on road widening alone.

Some of the roads widened include — Bannerghatta Road (Dairy Circle to Gottigere), Whitefield Main Road (up to Mahadevapura Metro Station), Tin Factory Junction, and Hosur Road (Silk Board Jn to Bommasandra).

In addition, for shifting electrical utilities, the authority obtained 261 properties spread over 8,756 square metres and spent Rs 82.29 crore compensating landowners, as per the DH report.

The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) plans to transfer these roads to the civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for further maintenance.

"Roads widened in Phases-I and II (Reach 1, 2, and 4 extensions) have already been handed over to the BBMP for maintenance. Since the properties acquired for road widening have been fully utilised for road formation, these lands will no longer be properties of the BMRCL. There is no need to consider them as land assets of the BMRCL," an official said.

Further, Namma Metro also intends to transfer roads widened for Reaches 5 and 6 under Phases-II and IIB, following the completion of the work.

As part of Phase-II of the metro network, the 13.71 km long KR Puram to Whitefield, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 March 2023.

The commercial operations commenced on 26 March.

The remaining 2.5 km link crucial link between Byappanahalli and KR Puram station is expected to be ready within two months and would be inaugurated in June, according to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).

Once completed, the overall network will pave the way for Whitefield, the bustling tech and residential hub of Bengaluru, to be connected to the rest of the city.