Introduction to Bangalore Ring Road Project :
Bangalore is one of the largest cities in India and has a faster growth rate when compared to other cities. The geographical extent of Bangalore city has now grown to approx 2,200 SqKm. According to a report, by the year 2019 over 80 Lakh vehicles were reported in Bangalore city.
Since Bangalore city is the capital of Karnataka, the existing infrastructure system of the city has to handle and cater the additional traffic from the outskirts on a regular basis. Due to an insufficient infrastructure system, Bengaluru city faces traffic congestion at several locations.
The options for better transportation system in Bangalore city has been into the discussion since decades. Many proposed projects went and are still under cold storage which never became a ground reality. One such project was Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road Project.
Timeline of Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road | Issues & Challenges
Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road was first introduced and mentioned in the comprehensive development plan of the city back in Year 1995. From here, It took 10 years for the formal announcement of the PRR which took place in year 2005.
Even after the announcement of the project, the work progress of the project was negligible. After crossing a number of hurdles, finally now the work on Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road is going to start soon.
If we go a bit deeper, after the announcement of Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road Project in Year 2005, the project faced many challenges and protests. Out of which the major challenge was Land Acquisition work which made the state government to face many issues, protests.
Apart from this, due to the delay in the project the prices of land shot up which ultimately added up to the final cost. It was another challenge for the state government to arrange the funds for this expensive project.
Also, for the construction, since there was a provision to cut down approximately 36,000 trees there was another issue the Peripheral Ring Road project was facing with the environmental clearances. Additionally there were many cases filed regarding the environmental protection to the tribunals. The environmentalists were simply opposing the project.
These Land acquisition work, Lack of fundings & Environmental issues were some of the big challenges this Peripheral Ring Road project of Bangalore was facing.
For the solution of the issue regarding funding of the project, dialogues happened with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) where the agency was offering to lend INR 3,800 crores for the project. But since JICA was not ready to fund for the Land Acquisition work, the deal could not take place and ultimately the project status was still stagnant.
Meanwhile, due to the higher cost of the project, the state government of Karnataka was looking for a solution where concessionaire bears both the construction cost & land acquisition cost altogether and collect the toll fare for a stipulated time frame. For this some firms including Israeli firm Symba Maz shown their interest in year 2021 but due to the disagreement in the toll collection period where Karnataka State government was offering toll collection period as 30 years & Symba Maz firm wanted to collect toll for 50 years, again the deal could not took place.
Apart from this there was a case pertaining to the Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road between the state (here the people) and Bangalore Development Authority. The hearing of which happened in November 2021. It is said that after this hearing only the path of the much awaited Bangalore peripheral ring road project got cleared.
Since past many years local land owners were demanding compensation against their land according to land acquisition act 2013 whereas since the project was proposed and announced before year 2013 i.e. before the existence of land acquisition act 2013, Karnataka Government wanted to compensate according to the rules set by Bangalore development Authority (BDA).
In November 2021, the supreme court gave its order in favour of Karnataka State Gov. According to reports, after this order the Karnataka state government will now save more than INR 3000 crores in Land Acquisition cost which will ultimately lower down the overall cost of the Peripheral Ring Road Project.
Brief of Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road
Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project will be an 8 lane fully access controlled expressway having an overall length of 74 Kms. The Expressway will start from the Tumkur road which is located at the west of Bangalore city. Passing through Bellari road and Old Madras road, it will be connected to Hosur road Which is located at south of the B’lor city.
Village list of Peripheral Ring Road Bangalore
Peripheral Ring Road will pass throgh a total of 67 villages in 9 hobli. including Madanayakannahalli, Hanumantasagara, Kudaragere, Tammenahalli in Dasnapur Hobli, Chikkabanavara in Yeshwanthpur Hobli, Soldevanahalli, Kempapura, Kalathammanahalli, kasaghattapura, Byalakere, Mavallipura, Lingarajapur in Hesaraghatta Hobli, Jarakabandekavalu, Ramagondanahalli, Avalahalli, Harohalli, Kenchenahalli, Vasudevpura, Venkatala, Manchenahalli, Vaderapura, Kogilu, Agrahara, Tirumenahalli, Chokkanahalli in Yellahanka Hobli, Kattigennahalli, Nagareswara Nagenahalli, Kothanooru, Hagaduru K R Puram Hobli.
Bairati, Chikkagubbi, Doddagubbi, Bileshivali, Vaderahalli, Rampura, Aduru, Biderahalli, Herandahalli, Chimasandra, Avalahalli, Bidarena Agrahara, Doddabanahalli, Kannamangala, Chikkabanahalli, Sigehalli, Kumbena Agrahara, Kadgodi, Channasandra, Khanekahdhaya in Bidarahalli Hobli, Belandur Ammanikere, Valepura, Sorahunase, Varthur, Gunjur, Kachmaranahalli, Soolakunte, Kodathi in Varthur Hobli, Chokkasandra, Avalahalli, Gattihalli, Huskur, Gullimangala, Chikkanagamangala, Singena Agrahara in Sarjapura Hobli, Kammasandra, Hebbagodi in Attibele Hobli.
Apart from this, to make it connected with Existing Bangalore Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) which is commonly known as NICE road. Connectivity will be provided at both starting and ending point of the Peripheral Ring Road. (See image)
With the help of connectivity at both ends (red section), a complete loop or ring will be formed with the existing NICE road in which the 51 km of NICE road and 65 km length (out of 74 kms) of Peripheral Ring Road will result in the formation of a Ring Road of overall 116 Kms.
Interactive Map of Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road
Salient Features of Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road Project
If we look at the salient features of Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road, the pavement on the PRR will be of flexible type. Throughout the stretch, the Right of Way will be of 100 meters. The freeway is designed in such a way that vehicles can move with a speed of 120 Kms/hour. PRR will be constructed as a 8 lane Fully Access Controlled Expressway with 4 lanes on each side. Along with this, since the Expressway will cross through the urban and semi-urban area, additional 6 lanes (3 lanes on each side) service roads will be constructed for the mobility of the local public and habitats.
Each of the lane will be 3.5m wide. Along with service roads, a cycle track of 4 m width will be created. Considering the pedestrians, there is a provision of a 4 m wide footpath / walkway on either side of the expressway. In addition to this, a Green space of width 4.5m will also be developed on extreme ends on both sides where trees will be planted. This will develop the ring road in a boulevard.
Since for the construction of Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road, more than 36,000 trees are to be cut down. Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has proposed to plant a total of 3,38,380 number of trees as the compensatory plantation.
Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road will cross and intersect 4 National Highways and 5 state Highways throughout its stretch.
The proposed alignment of Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) will be located at a radial distance of 17 kms to 25 kms from the center of Bangalore city. This PRR will act as a bypass to heavy traffic from National and State Highways.
There is a provision for the construction of 5 Flyovers, 4 Underpasses, 3 Railway Over Bridges (ROB), 2 Railway Under Bridge (RUB), 21 Vehicular Underpass (VUP), 3 Vehicular Overpass (VOP), 7 Pedestrian Underpass (PUP), 5 Pedestrian Overpass, 69 Box Culverts, 4 Minor Bridges (MNB) type structures throughout the length of Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road
Toll plazas (Main & Ramp Type) will be constructed at 9 locations of the expressway which will use an advanced toll collection mechanism. In addition to this CCTV cameras, emergency calling booths, fuel stations, wayside amenities, etc will also be installed on periodic locations.
Also according to an article published in “The Hindu”, The median width of the PRR is adopted in such a way that in the future, a metro line can be installed at the center portion of the expressway. Additionally, on 6 locations of PRR, Helipads will be constructed for the facility of air ambulance and on strategic locations, Electric Vehicle charging stations will also be installed.
On selected crossings with National Highways and State Highways, Cloverleaf type Interchanges will be developed.
B’lor PRR Land Acquisition Details
For the construction of Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road, overall 1036 Hectares of Land will be acquired. According to certain reports, it is estimated that the Land acquisition work for Peripheral Ring Road will cost approx INR 9,318 Crores. In addition to this, the civil construction cost of the Peripheral Ring Road will cost to INR 5,600 Crores. So the total cost of construction of the 74 Kms Peripheral Ring Road will shoot up to INR 14,934 crores.
Current Status of the Bangalore PRR project
Presently, the long lasted case of land acquisition has been settled by honorable supreme court of India in year 2021 in which the order has been given in favor of BDA (Karnataka State Government). All the clearances, pertaining to the environment has been obtained already.
Since Karnataka State Government does not have enough capitals to fund this expensive project, the Public Private Partnership model of construction has been adopted in which the construction of this Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road will be done using Design Build Operate Finance and Transfer (DBFOT) Mode. And according to this only, recently the tenders for Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road Project has been floated in which it is clearly mentioned that the awarded concessionaire will have to bear the fundings for Land Acquision & Civil Construction and the same will collect the toll fare for 50 Years on the revenue sharing basis.
In a twist of fate, initial expectations for the commencement of a promising project in 2022 were dashed when the tender was unexpectedly canceled later that same year. However, the year 2023 brings renewed optimism as the state government diligently explores alternative funding avenues for the project’s realization. Despite the setback, the project remains firmly on the horizon.
With careful consideration and dedication, the state government is actively seeking ways to secure the necessary funding for the project’s implementation. While the exact timeline remains uncertain, the fact that the project is still being pursued speaks volumes about its significance and potential benefits.
As of now, the project holds a ray of hope for its proponents and the local community. Until an official statement designates the project as abandoned, the prospect of its eventual initiation persists. The journey ahead might be challenging, but as long as the government maintains its commitment, the possibility of the project becoming a reality continues to shine bright.
One more important information regarding this project is that even if the Land Acquisition case has been settled in the supreme court of India, local people are still comparing the land acquisition compensation in which, for example, if for one acre of land a farmer is getting 65 Lacs according to BDA rules, the same land will ripe 4 crores according to Land Acquisition Act 2013.
Due to the huge differences in the figures of compensation through different acts, still even at the final stage some delays are expected. However, Karnataka State Government is looking very positive towards this much-awaited Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road Project.
So this was the complete information about the Bengaluru PRR projects which is in cold storage since past 28 years.
For More Details on the PRR Project watch now :