Bengaluru, 28 June

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Sunday termed the proposed tunnel road project in Bengaluru "unscientific".

He said Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had not laid the foundation stone for the tunnel road, but "the tombstone of scientific urban planning."

Earlier in the day, the CM launched the three-lane twin tunnel road project from Mehkri Circle to Hebbal Junction, describing it as part of the government's long-term vision to strengthen Bengaluru's infrastructure and ease travel for commuters.

Taking to X to oppose the state government's Rs 1,139-crore, 2-km tunnel project, the Bengaluru South MP said it was "an unscientific solution that will fail to address Bengaluru's traffic problems".

“Mr Chief Minister, you have not laid a foundation stone today. You have laid the tombstone of scientific urban planning in Bengaluru,” Surya claimed in his post.

The MP pointed out that the government's own Detailed Project Report admits the tunnel will be saturated from the very first day of operation.

“Not five years later. Not ten years later. Day One. If the project's own report says it will begin its life in a traffic jam, then who exactly is this project for? Certainly not commuters,” he said.

Surya claimed the project was widely perceived as one that would benefit a privileged few at the expense of the rest of Bengaluru.

“This project seems designed to make life easier for a privileged few, the VIPs of Sadashivanagar, including the CM and the city's elite who use this corridor to reach the airport, while ordinary taxpayers across Bengaluru foot the bill,” he said.

He alleged that the primary beneficiaries of the project would be contractors, who, according to him, would "reroute large kickbacks to the Congress's funds."

Surya reiterated that the government should instead prioritise public transport and fast-track the proposed Red Line Metro corridor.

“If the government genuinely wanted to reduce congestion, it would have fast-tracked the Red Line Metro. Public transport is the only proven long-term solution for Bengaluru. Flyovers have failed. Tunnels will fail too,” he said.

He also questioned the state government's stand, noting that Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda had repeatedly argued that short flyovers could not solve congestion.

“Then how does a short tunnel suddenly become the answer? Bengaluru deserves an explanation. If the minister cannot stand up to oppose such unscientific projects, then nothing has changed in the city's approach to development,” he said.

Reaffirming his opposition to the larger tunnel road proposal, Surya said the short tunnel would not become a gateway to a much larger tunnel project.

"We will oppose every such attempt. There is no question of allowing the proposed long tunnel through Bengaluru South," the BJP Yuva Morcha national president said.

Surya maintained that Bengaluru's future lay in strengthening mass public transport and improving urban planning.

“Bengaluru needs more Metro, more buses, better suburban rail and better urban planning, not expensive monuments to failed thinking,” he said.