Bengaluru-Mysuru road work to begin in March: Nitin Gadkari

Bengaluru: PM Narendra Modi will establish the framework stone for the long-pending Bengaluru-Mysuru six-laning project one month from now, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.

The project, once finished, is expected to cut travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru to an hour and a half. The expressway will be tolled.

Speaking to the reporters, Gadkari guaranteed to soon get clearance from the cabinet for the project. The undertaking was postponed because of a few entanglements, he said. “There were a few issues, including land acquisition issues. The project was with the state government and then exchanged to the Center. I will take it to the Cabinet for endorsement soon. We have gotten bids and they are under assessment,” the minister said.

The tender procedure was conceded after each due date as land acquisition for the project did not achieve the vital limit to justify Cabinet clearance. Gadkari likewise said the Center will put Rs 1,44,922 crore in the state in the following two years with Rs 85,000 crore reserved for 41 works under the Bharatmala Project.

The Bengaluru Satellite Township Ring Road and Shiradi Ghat Tunnel, each costing Rs 10,000 crore, will be taken up on need, he said. The minister additionally cleared up that NHAI won’t take up the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) venture. “I made an offer to the Karnataka government that it should bear half of the land securing cost, yet there was no reaction. The venture is their (state) post. I will do only this STRR street. I can’t do everything,” Gadkari said.

The minister said he has offered the state government to take control of Belekeri port. “I will contribute Rs 10,000 crore there. I have proposed this and I’m anticipating a suggestion from the state government,” he included.