Peripheral road plea adjourned

Peripheral road plea adjourned
A division Bench has adjourned to January 12 the hearing on a batch of petitions related to construction of a peripheral road over Gottigere Lake.
Advocate general Udaya Holla gave the court a report from the government that stated the peripheral road over the lake should be straight. This could be done by using cable-bridge technology and without installing any pillar in the lake, the report stated.
“While the planning authorities, BMICP and KSPCB, suggested a straight road, the LDA sought a different alignment. Since the courts have held that the project should be undertaken through the “originally conceived plan”, PWD’s suggestion to have a cable-bridge at Rs 30 crore was recommended by the committee considering the road on both sides of the lake,” Holla explained.
Objecting to the report and the proposal for a straight road, Dushyant Dave, counsel for NICE, said a straight road over the lake was “a bogey”. The two sides argumed over the alignment issue.
“The company has acted like our epic character Bhasmasura, who put his hand on his head. The project was delayed because of the other party,” Holla added. “A total of 39.5 km of the 41-km road is completed. But the government is pitted against us. The previous chief minister, his brother who’s the former PWD minister, and their father who’s the former Prime Minister, are fighting against us. Some influential landowners have created this situation,” Dave submitted.
“It’ll be better if you build roads all around the lake, including up and down,” the chief justice remarked in a lighter vein before adjuring the hearing.