City road-widening project on course

City road-widening project on course
The BBMP had plans to upgrade some city roads to make commuting easier. Sai Prasanna has an update


Come November and commuters can heave a sigh of relief. This is because the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will take up various road improvement works - asphalting and road strengthening - and also start some more road widening projects.
Road widening
Road widening works are already in progress and nine roads have been taken up by the BBMP on a priority basis. Presently, three roads - Bellary Road, Race Course Road, and Palace Road - are being widened. Work on Bellary Road and Race Course Road is expected to be completed by December this year. The first project costs Rs 12.7 crores and the second one costs Rs 7 crores. Palace Road will be ready by March next year and its approximate cost is Rs 5.7 crores.
Other roads that will be widened on a priority basis include Seshadri Road, Hosur Road, Hosur Laskar Road, Kasturba Road, Jayamahal Road, and Airport Road. As of now, tenders have been called for the widening works on Seshadri Road.
Sources in the BBMP say, "Once the tenders are finalised, civil works like utility shifting and tree removal will start, in one or two months. We are also waiting for Bangalore University and the Railways to hand over land to us". The cost for this project comes to Rs 3.44 crores.
The work on Hosur Road is in progress and will take another eight months to be completed. The cost of this project comes to Rs 4.17 crores. Tenders have been called for the work on Hosur Laskar Road. The Government has given approval for this project around 15 days ago. But defence land for a distance of 1.2 km has to be acquired for this project.
Also, 578 trees have to be transplanted from here by the Forest Department. Discussions are in process with the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) with regard to the shifting of power and water lines. Work is expected to start within two months and the cost of the project comes to Rs 14.7 crores.
Negotiations are also on with private landowners here to acquire land for the widening works. The work on Hosur Laskar Road will be taken up using the Transferable Development Rights (TDR) scheme. According to this scheme, a person giving away a portion of his land for civic infrastructure projects will get additional built-up area at 1.5 times the FAR of his property. He gets a Development Rights Certificate (DRC) which will enable him to sell or transfer the development rights for that property.
Tenders are under approval for the widening works on Kasturba Road and work is expected to start in another two months. The approximate cost of this project comes to Rs 1.8 crores.
As regards Airport Road, the BBMP is in talks to acquire defence land. For the road widening work on Jayamahal Road, the Palace land is still under dispute due to which this project is being delayed. The Palike has asked for Rs 2 crores for each of these projects.
Road strengthening
The Major Roads Department of the BBMP has planned to take up 90 roads this year for asphalting and strengthening works. As of now, tenders have been called for and work is expected to start by November end. This work is set to be completed in three months. The funds allocated for this project is Rs 95 lakhs.
Works will include asphalting, providing speed breakers, footpath improvement, road medians, lane marking, and strengthening the road where required.