‘Decks finally cleared for Dobaspet-Hosur ring road project in Bengaluru’

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the decks have finally been cleared for the long-pending ring road project connecting Dobaspet and Hosur under the Bharatmala programme that will help decongest the traffic in Bengaluru.

Emerging from a meeting with Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, the CM said all concerns related to land acquisition have been resolved and even the state government has agreed to give GST exemption on item like steel, cement, sand and aggregates used in road construction.

The same was informed to the central government and requested Gadkari to instruct the implementing agency National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to take up this project on a priority.

Speaking to reporters, the CM said, “The project was pending for the past six years due to land acquisition and other issues. The state had addressed the concerns long back and the same was communicated to the central government. Still, the project was not taken up.”

The state government has decided to bear 30 per cent cost amounting Rs 1,560 crore towards land acquisition and about Rs 1,000 crore towards exemption of state GST on road construction material especially steel, cement, sand and aggregates, he said.

Besides, the CM sought approval for construction of a tunnel bypass of the Shiradi Ghat section of NH-75, which is an important highway connecting the port city of Mangaluru and Bengaluru, as a joint venture in association with the Japanese government. The capital cost of this project is about Rs 10,146 crore.

Amond others projects, he sought expansion of Bijapur-Sankeshwar NH-5488 and declaration of five state roads as national highways while discussing various road projects with the Union minister.

Besides Gadkari, Bommai met several other central ministers during his two-day visit.