Bengaluru

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday morning conducted the "Bengaluru Nadige (Walk for Bengaluru)" program at Venkayya Eco Park in the KR Puram assembly constituency.

The Deputy CM interacted with locals and heard their concerns.

Earlier, the Karnataka Cabinet had approved the ambitious 117-km Bengaluru Business Corridor, aimed at easing traffic congestion and improving connectivity across the city. The corridor will link Tumakuru Road to Mysuru Road via Yelahanka and Electronic City, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference after the Cabinet meeting, Shivakumar said the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project has been rebranded and cleared as the Bengaluru Business Corridor.

"The state government has taken a big step. The erstwhile Peripheral Ring Road project has been renamed as Bengaluru Business Corridor and has been approved. The government is rewriting history by announcing such a big road project. The land owners have been given four compensation options," he said.

"The corridor road project will connect Tumakuru Road to Mysuru Road through Yelahanka and Electronic City. As much as 73 km of this road will be in North Bengaluru and the rest in South Bengaluru," he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the State government has decided to take a loan of Rs 27,000 crore for the project through Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO).

"The previous government had notified the project but had not taken it back. Bengaluru needs an alternative to NICE Road. We have decided to take a loan of Rs 27,000 crore for the project through HUDCO," he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the State government has decided to take a loan of Rs 27,000 crore for the project through Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO).

"The previous government had notified the project but had not taken it back. Bengaluru needs an alternative to NICE Road. We have decided to take a loan of Rs 27,000 crore for the project through HUDCO," he added.

"The initial notification was for a road width of 100 meters, but we have decided to keep the road width of 65 meters, which is as wide as the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. It will have a provision of 5 meters for a metro project in the future. The remaining 35 meters of land will be given back to farmers as compensation," he added.

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He said that four compensation options are being offered to landowners. "There is a provision to provide twice the value of the market rate as compensation. If some land owners do not want commercial land, we will provide them with 40% development land in BDA layouts," he explained.