All-party meet on airport, metro projects sought

All-party meet on airport, metro projects sought

The Hindu

Yediyurappa alleges Government is going slow on the projects

Bangalore: Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly B.S. Yediyurappa on Thursday demanded that Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh convene an all-party meeting to provide details on the status of the Bangalore International Airport and the Bangalore Metro Rail.

He told presspersons here that it is unfortunate that the Chief Minister has pleaded his helplessness over the two projects, apparently because the coalition partner, Janata Dal (Secular), has forced their stalling on various grounds. There are also reports that Janata Dal (Secular) President H.D. Deve Gowda has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Chief Minister on October 14 last seeking a rethink on the two projects on the ground that they are economically unviable.

Mr. Yediyurappa said rather than hasten the completion of the two projects, the Government is going slow much to the chagrin of the people. The land required for the Bangalore Metro Rail has already been notified for acquisition and in some areas has also been acquired. The Centre has handed over 136 acres of its lands to the metro rail and the Government has also parted with 64 acres belonging to it. For the 26 acres of private land required for the project, the authorities have set apart Rs. 286 crores. Further, for the Rs. 1750-crore project, the Government has already collected a cess on petrol totalling Rs. 800 crores from 1990 and the High Court has directed that the proceeds be utilised only for the metro rail.