RING ROADS mired in DELAYS

RING ROADS mired in DELAYS
BMRDA Pitching To Be Sole Developer Of Satellite Town Roads
R Krishnakumar | TNN

Bangalore: On the drawing board, the project looked ambitious and the utility upped everyone’s hopes of better connectivity.
But even two years after the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) revealed detailed plans for its satellite town ring roads (STRR), the project is awaiting approvals and a decision on the model of implementation.
The BMRDA is pushing for dissociation of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) from the project and set to emerge as the single implementing agency. The approval of the state cabinet, though, is yet to come through and with the nod to the compensation packages and the environment report also awaited, there’s been no groundwork. The BMRDA is in the process of deciding between the annuity model and the design, build, own, operate and transfer model for the PPP project.
The dissociation of NHAI from the project was proposed after areas identified for the ring roads were found overlapping with roads under national highway jurisdiction. The PWD, that’s preparing a note for the project’s approval from the state cabinet, is expected to mention this in the report.
The alignment of the 204-km STRR — planned to provide connectivity among Doddaballapur, Devanahalli, Hoskote, Anekal, Kanakapura, Magadi and Dobbspet as well as Ramanagaram — overlaps with the national highway in its eastern segment (see box). Abhijit Dasgupta, metropolitan commissioner, BMRDA, told TOI that the alignment overlapped with NH 207 but the BMRDA would take up the work on its own. STRRs will be developed as state highways. The technical components involved in tackling the overlapping issue are being worked on. Dasgupta said the groundwork could commence “any time’’.
Proposed as part of a structure plan for the Bangalore metropolitan region, STRR and the individual town ring roads (ITRR) have been caught in a time warp, even after the technoeconomic feasibility report was done and the alignment frozen. The pre-qualification bids for the Rs 5,250-crore project have been submitted to the government for approval.
“We are proposing a land-for-land compensation model, under which 8,000 sqft of developed land will be given as compensation for every acre acquired,’’ he said. The BMRDA is also expecting about Rs 400 crore to be released for STRR under the central roads fund. The STRR and ITRR require 7,265 acres of land, of which 602 acres are government land. An additional 4,037 acres are required as land-for-land compensation. The roads will be developed over a period of three years.
TIME LINE
August, 2006
BMRDA announces detailed plans for ring roads
June, 2007
GO issued to release Rs 400 crore for land acquisition
September, 2007
Alignment of roads notified
July, 2008
Cabinet note detailing project components being prepared