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‘Bengaluru is India’s economic engine, but...': Tejasvi Surya flags metro delays, fare hike in Lok Sabha
The Bengaluru MP demanded immediate release of the Fare Fixation Committee report by BMRCL and fast-track approval for the Red Line to alleviate traffic.
Raising key urban mobility issues in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Bengaluru South MP and BJP leader Tejasvi Surya urged the Centre and relevant authorities to expedite critical metro-related projects in the city.
Addressing the House, Surya called for the early commissioning of the long-pending Yellow Line of Namma Metro, which has faced repeated delays. He also voiced concerns over the recent steep fare hike, criticizing the lack of transparency in the process.
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He pointed out that the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) report has not yet been made public by BMRCL (Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited), and pressed for its immediate release.
Additionally, the MP requested fast-track approval for the proposed Red Line, which is expected to play a significant role in decongesting traffic and improving the city’s public transport infrastructure.
Surya has also publicly challenged Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to an open debate over the proposed tunnel road project in Bengaluru, escalating the ongoing political tussle over the contentious infrastructure plan.
Surya on tunnel road project
Responding to criticism from the Congress party, which accused him of spreading “misleading claims,” Surya took to social media to call for a public discussion on the project. “If you truly welcome technical scrutiny and public debate on this tunnel road project, I propose an open discussion with Hon. DCM Sri @DKShivakumar who is spearheading this project. Let the time and place be of your choosing,” Surya posted on X.
The BJP MP, a long-time critic of the tunnel road proposal, reiterated his view that the ₹18,500 crore project is a “vanity scheme” that serves only the city’s elite. “It will benefit just 10% of Bengaluru’s car-owning population living in neighbourhoods like Koramangala and Sadashivnagar, while 90% of the city struggles with poor public transport,” he said.
Surya also questioned the cost-efficiency of the 18 km project, pointing out that its estimated budget exceeds that of major national infrastructure projects like the Mumbai Coastal Road, the Atal Tunnel, and the Bengaluru–Mysuru Expressway. “Will they build it with golden bricks?” he remarked in a previous post, slamming the tunnel plan as fiscally irresponsible.
With the Congress defending the project as a solution to Bengaluru’s traffic woes, and the BJP accusing the state government of prioritising optics over equitable mobility, the tunnel road debate appears poised to become a key flashpoint in the city’s urban policy discourse.
(With agency inputs)
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