Bengaluru, a city often beleaguered by its residents’ complaints about crumbling civic infrastructure, is finally witnessing a determined push from the State government. On September 24, Karnataka’s Chief Secretary, Shalini Rajneesh, unveiled an ambitious 90-day initiative. This program is designed to aggressively address critical issues like widespread potholes, inefficient garbage disposal, delayed public works, and ongoing metro construction, ultimately aiming to vastly improve the city’s road networks.
Significantly, the plan also includes exploring congestion pricing for the Outer Ring Road (ORR), a notorious stretch known for being one of Bengaluru’s busiest and most traffic-clogged arteries. This detailed strategy was presented during a high-profile meeting at Vidhana Soudha, presided over by Ms. Rajneesh. Key attendees included senior officials from the Urban Development Department and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), alongside prominent IT sector leaders such as Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Yulu Bike co-founder R.K. Misra.
Following the meeting, Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw expressed her support for the government’s initiative but emphasized the crucial role of public participation. ‘We thoroughly reviewed the 90-day plan, which encompasses vital areas like road maintenance, waste management, and sewage systems. While the government is committed to action, it’s equally important for citizens to contribute. Our expectation for the coming three months is to witness tangible progress, including the repair of potholes, the completion of asphalting and white-topping projects, the revitalization of stalled developments, significant advancements on the ORR upgrade, and overall improvements across 12 major high-traffic corridors,’ she stated.
Civic activist R.K. Misra elaborated on the timeline, noting that October will focus entirely on making all primary city roads fully motorable, including sections needing fresh resurfacing. November will then spotlight community involvement through the ‘My Street, My Responsibility’ campaign, encouraging residents to properly segregate waste and report civic issues. December is slated for increased corporate engagement, particularly concerning the ORR, a route critical for the approximately 2.5 million IT professionals who commute daily.
Rethinking Traffic: The Congestion Pricing Proposal
Mr. Misra specifically put forward the idea of congestion pricing for the ORR. He outlined a potential system where a fee would be automatically debited via FASTag for single-occupant vehicles entering the ORR, while cars with two or more passengers would be exempt. He stressed that this initiative is as much about managing traffic demand as it is about developing infrastructure, citing successful models in global cities like London and Singapore, suggesting Bengaluru, as a fast-growing urban center, should consider similar approaches.
To enhance transparency and accountability in civic projects, Mr. Misra announced the upcoming launch of a new contract monitoring application. This system will meticulously track projects from their initial procurement to final payment. ‘Contractors will only be compensated upon submitting verified progress updates. This renewed emphasis on strict deadlines, quality assurance, and transparency is expected to yield tangible and significant improvements,’ he explained.
Accelerating the Bengaluru Metro Expansion
According to a high-ranking government official present at the meeting, a significant portion of the discussion revolved around fast-tracking the Outer Ring Road metro project, officially known as the Namma Metro Blue Line. This crucial line, connecting Central Silk Board to K.R. Puram, is anticipated to dramatically alleviate traffic congestion on the ORR upon its completion. ‘We meticulously reviewed the Blue Line project specifics and committed to accelerating its timeline. This line is vital for decongesting this heavily trafficked corridor and will provide immense relief to thousands of daily commuters working along the ORR,’ the official stated.
The official added that the discussions also covered implementing more stringent quality controls for all road construction initiatives and proposals to enhance connectivity between different campuses within IT parks, aiming to further streamline daily commutes for tech employees.