The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : NHAI to take over peripheral ring road, expressway work

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 02, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

NHAI to take over peripheral ring road, expressway work

Special Correspondent

Loans to be sought from Japanese bank, ADB for projects

BMRDA will acquire the land for 21.5-km expressway
K-SHIP will take up work on 584 km of State highways

BANGALORE: The executive committee chaired by Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Tuesday decided to hand over the two major works of developing the expressway from outer ring road to the Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli and peripheral road in the northern and eastern portions under the first phase to the National Highway Authority of India.

Mr. Thakur told presspersons here on Tuesday that the development of the Rs. 1,080-crore 21.8-km expressway to the airport, for which the Karnataka State Highway Improvement Project (K-SHIP) had a proposal, would be handed over to the NHAI.

S. Krishna Kumar, Advisor to the Governor, said the land acquisition work for this road would be done using the Karnataka State Highway Act by the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

He said the 65-km stretch of the peripheral ring road in the northern side at a cost of Rs. 1,600 crore for which the Bangalore Development Authority had done the preliminary work would be executed by the NHAI. He said the expenditure for the land acquisition would be met by the Central agency. The final notification for the acquisition of land between Tumkur Road and Hosur Road had been completed. The NHAI would reimburse the amount that would be paid to farmers.

The Advisor said the committee decided to take up the work on 584.5 km out of the 3,400 km of the State highways at a cost of Rs. 1,200 crore through the K-SHIP. The Government is getting a Rs. 1,000 crore World Bank loan. The bank had offered to reimburse any amount that was spent by the Government till the loan was sanctioned. The K-SHIP could start preparations and tendering process.

Major highways

The stretches of different roads where the K-SHIP would take up development works were: Gangavati-Saundatti, Haveri-Hanagal, Bagewadi-Bailhongal, Choudapur-Gulbarga, Mundaragi-Hadagali, Koudli-Mandya, Hosakote-Hindiganal Cross, Hindiganal Cross-Chintamani Cross, Buntwal-Belthangadi, Malavalli-Maddur, Maddur-Huliyurdurga, Huliyurdurga-Kunigal, Kunigal-Tumkur, Tumkur-Koratagere, Hassan-Arkalgud, Koratagere-Madhugiri, Madhugiri-Pavagada and Chikodi-Nippani.

The Government had decided to seek loan from either the Asian Development Bank or the Japanese Bank of International Cooperation for funds to complete the rest of the 3,400 km roads.

P.P. Prabhu, Advisor to the Governor, said it was decided to buy copra, both the mill and ball varieties in Tumkur, Tiptur, Channarayapatna and Puttur, if the price fell below the minimum support price.

The Governor said the committee would decide the list of reservations for the posts of president and vice president of the urban local bodies and it would be announced next week.

Mr. Krishna Kumar, who admitted that the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike had increased the building licence and other fees, said it had not been revised for the last 13 years. The BBMP, he said, required funds for providing quality service.

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