Bengaluru Citizens Group Opposes Tunnel Road Project Over Hebbal Real Estate Hubs

Citizens' group Bengaluru Praja Vedike has written to city legislators and parliamentarians urging them to reject the proposed tunnel road project, calling it a real estate project in disguise that includes planned intermodal hubs at five key locations, including Hebbal.

The campaign against the infrastructure project comes ahead of the Karnataka legislature's Monsoon Session starting August 13. In its letter to lawmakers, the group described the proposal as vanity infrastructure that repeats flyover failures and called for evidence-based planning.

According to draft concession documents, intermodal hubs comprising a platform level, a services floor, a car parking floor, and two floors for retail space will be constructed at vertical shaft points. A total of 6.13 acres across Hebbal, Palace Grounds/Mehkri Circle, Race Course, Lalbagh, and Silk Board will be handed over to the concessionaire for these plazas.

Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd. (B-SMILE) estimated that the hubs could generate annual ancillary revenues of ₹250 crore to ₹300 crore for the private concessionaire. Under the draft agreement, this revenue will not be included in calculations to review the 30-year concession period, which can be extended up to 40 years.

However, BPV and urban experts contended that real estate earnings could exceed ₹30,000 crore during the concession period because the draft agreement permits a maximum Floor Space Index (FSI) of 5 for transit-oriented development. This provision allows concessionaires to build high-rises above the surface rather than limiting development to five-floor structures.

Satya Arikutharam, an independent urban mobility expert, stated that if ancillary revenue were factored into the project's Total Concession Value, the tunnel roads might not need to be tolled at all.

In response, B.S. Parhlad, Technical Director at B-SMILE, said that providing ancillary revenue is a legal incentive to attract private firms to build the tunnel roads, noting that the arrangement is modelled on international frameworks. The state government has already raised a ₹19,000-crore loan for Viability Gap Funding, covering 40% of the project cost for the Hebbal-Silk Board North-South Tunnel Road.