Bengaluru: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced that the central government will provide 20% equity for the 148km long suburban rail project in Bengaluru. 60% of the project will be funded through external agencies.
The project, which is estimated to cost Rs 18,600 crore, is aimed at reducing congestion in the city.
While the announcement has made citizen-activists happy, they are not yet celebrating as a declaration in the budget means little on the ground. The three-decade old demand had previously received multiple mentions before this - in railway budget 2016 speech, given by former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and 2018 union budget speech, given by Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. However, the project is yet to take off due to pending final approval from the center.
"They are only playing an old record. The problem is not the budget, it is the approval. This is another big jhumla. Earlier, at least there was some pressure from the state government (Congress/JDS. Now, with the same party at both state and central level, one would hope it becomes easier but that is not the case," said Srinivas Alavalli, member of Citizens for Bengaluru.
State BJP leaders immediately welcomed the announcement. Suresh Angadi, the Union minister of state for Railways, also a MP from Karnataka, said, “Welcome the much awaited budget announcement on Bengaluru Suburban Rail by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.”
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan also welcomed the announcement and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the move.
Citizens have been campaigning for the suburban rail for years with campaigns like the 'chiku buku beku' (want trains). The project gains even more significance at a time when Benglauru beat 415 other cities across the world for worst traffic in 2019, according to a report by TomTom (https://www.news18.com/news/auto/bengaluru-has-the-worst-traffic-in-the-world-3-more-indian-cities-in-the-top-10-list-report-2477621.html)
"It is disappointing. There is just no will to get the work done. If the budget can announce the project at a certain cost, how difficult is it to approve it in the cabinet so that actual work can begin? Budget announcement means you have already gone through the details of the project. You announce more smart cities but what about the basic amenities in the cities? How long would they hold a city hostage?" asks Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru.
The project includes four corridors with 57 stations across Bengaluru.
"We had submitted the Detailed Project Report but they wanted a revised one. We submitted that too. We have 80-85% of the required land, fund is not a problem either. Once we have the final nod, we can begin work on the ground within six months. The first corridor between city railway station and airport should be completed in three years," said Amit Garg, MD, Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises.
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