Friday, September 27, 2013

Speed train to airport back on board after CM visit to China

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's eight-minute, 50-km high-speed ride from Shanghai city to Pudong International Airport on an electro-magnetic train during his recent visit to China may change the way Bangalore commutes.

A Rs 6,689-crore project for a 37-km high-speed rail link (HSRL) between Bangalore city and Bangalore International Airport, which was considered dead and buried, is back on the drawing board.

The link will cut travel time to airport to around 20 minutes.

Sources in the finance, urban development and infrastructure departments said HSRL, put on the back burner by the erstwhile BJP government that favoured extension of Bangalore Metro, was witnessing renewed interest in the past few weeks.

The feasibility of HSRL is once again before the finance department for consideration. "It is true a file regarding revival of the high-speed rail link to the airport has come to us,'' sources in the department said.

First proposed during the planning stage of Bangalore International Airport in 2001-02, when S M Krishna of Congress was the chief minister, HSRL came to the request for proposal stage following the shortlisting of five consortia to implement the project in 2011. It was shelved in favour of Metro Phase II due to the high cost involved.

HSRL was to be implemented in public-private partnership by the state and central governments with funding from Japan Bank for International Cooperation and private consortia.

The central government was to provide viability gap funding to the tune of Rs 1,047 crore.

The project received a lot of impetus between 2006 and 2011 before it was abandoned.

"A proposal on feasibility of HSRL and the Metro phase II link (from Nagwara) to the new airport has been placed before the finance department. We have recommended extension of the Metro,'' an official in the urban development department said.

Sources said there was pressure from New Delhi as well for reconsideration of HSRL to ensure smooth connectivity to the city.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

An NH-like ring road is in the works: Minister State government dazzles Union minister Oscar Fernandes with plan for a 320-km road connecting all satellite towns within a 50-km radius of Blore

If a proposal by the state government is approved by the Centre,Bangalore could become the first city in the country to be encircled by a ring road that will be as good as a National Highway.The National Highway Ring Road will be 320 km long and connect 10 satellite towns around the IT city.The ambitious plan involves upgrading 200 kilometres of state highways to the standard of National Highways.The rest will be made up by 120 km of National Highway 207.State highways are built and maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD).National Highways Authority of India is responsible for the development,maintenance and management of National Highways.There is a section in the PWD to take care of the needs of National Highways in the state.

K Jaiprakash,chief engineer,National Highway Zone in the state PWD,said,In the context of the proposed road,NH 207 connects Dobbespet in Bangalore Rural district to Doddaballapur,Devanahalli,Hoskote and Sarjapur.

At this point,state highways will take you to Anekal,Kanakapura,Ramnagar,Magadi and back to Dobbespet. 

The proposal and its benefits were presented to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes.Sources in the PWD claimed that the Union minister was impressed and promised all possible assistance from the Centre.

PWD minister K C Mahadevappa said,I accompanied the chief minister to the meeting last week with the Union minister.Fernandes readily gave his consent to the project and directed us to submit a detailed project report in a months time.We aim to complete the project in less than two years and make Bangalore the first city in the country to be encircled by a road built to the standards of a National Highway. 

A senior executive engineer of the PWD said,The previous government had begun creating satellite towns to decongest Bangalore and ensure growth evenly around the city.The NH Ring Road project will cover the 10 satellite towns within a radius of 50 km from the core of the city.

We are estimating the cost of implementing the project and preparing a feasibility report.Among other things,we have to decide whether the road should be toll free or charge a fee in select portions.

Hebbal-Yelahanka Elevated Expressway





















Hebbal-Yelahanka Elevated Expressway Update














Sunday, September 8, 2013

Metro Phase II work in Bangalore takes off, with KIADB starting the land acquisition process. Actual work is supposed to start by January 2014.

Metro Phase II work takes off, with KIADB starting the land acquisition process.


Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) conducted the first hearing for the owners of properties to be acquired for alignment of Metro Phase II on 4 September, 2013. The properties notified were for Ragigudda and Silk Board stations, on RV Road- Bommasandra line. 

Metro is all geared up to start the Phase-II work by January 2014. To achieve this target, the process of identification of properties was already initiated by KIADB officers deputed to the Metro, in the last few weeks. 

In the first hearing, only the properties required for building Ragigudda and Silk Board stations received notification. KIADB issued notifications to 55 properties out of which 10 properties had been awarded by BBMP to poor people, way back in 1980’s. 

Property owners resign to their fate 

Only 20 owners of properties in question were present at the hearing held at the KIADB office, in Nrupathunga Road. Most of them were concerned over losing their property partially. Most of them were wondering what will they do with the partial land. They wanted BMRCL to take entire land and or compensate them with good amount.

Malleswaram’s own twin towers




Bustling Malleswaram will get two skyscrapers — a 32-storeyed residential complex and a 27-storeyed commercial complex — adjacent to Mantri Square and Sampige Road Metro Station. The twin towers will be 112.9 metres and 100.85 metres tall respectively.

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which had withheld approval for the joint building plan submitted by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) and Mantri Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., finally sanctioned the plan on August 22.

With the approval, Mantri, whose 5.04 acres of land was acquired by BMRCL for Sampige Road Metro Station, can complete not only the metro station with two basements, one ground and one upper floor, but also build a residential tower with three basements, one ground and 32 floors, and a commercial/office tower with three basements, one ground and 27 upper floors.

The metro station will be known as Mantri Square Sampige Road Station by virtue of the PPP agreement between BMRCL and Mantri.

The total built up area of all the three structures would come up to 1,77,885.10 sq mt on 58,836.91 sq mt of land. Mantri has to leave 12,286 sq mt of land in the acquired area for the formation of a 24-mt-wide four-lane road for the use of occupants and visitors of the residential and commercial towers.

While residents of Malleswaram are already crying hoarse over the traffic logjam owing to Mantri Square abutting Sampige Road, traffic experts feel that the twin towers might not impact the traffic flow in the vicinity. M.N. Sreehari, traffic engineering expert, said the 24-mt-wide road should take care of the traffic emanating from the twin towers. The road will be open to the public after the construction of the metro station, he said.

ALLEGED ENCROACHMENT

BBMP had been refusing approval on the ground that Mantri Developers had encroached upon 2 acres 11 guntas of government land. It could obtain transferable development rights (TDR) after handing over this encroached land to BBMP for the construction of a road, the palike had argued.

While the government had been directing the BBMP to approve the plan, the previous Commissioner had asked the government to rescind the orders since Mantri was found to have encroached upon the land conclusively by the Survey and Settlement Department. On a writ petition by Mantri, a single judge of the High Court had on April 15 directed the palike to approve the plan. The palike’s appeal against this order was disposed of by a division bench on June 18, directing BBMP to approve the plan. The court had said Mantri could be compelled to surrender the TDR if the court [in a separate pending case] finds that it had actually encroached government land. Following this, BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayana ordered approval of the plan on July 26 and Joint Director (Town Planning) approved the plan on August 22.