‘Bound to fail’: Tejasvi Surya slams ₹18,000 crore Congress-backed tunnel project in Bengaluru

The proposed tunnel road in Bengaluru, planned between Hebbal and Silk Board, has been mired in controversy from the start.

Published on: Jun 23, 2025, 07:44:00 IST

By HT News Desk | Edited by Anagha Deshpande

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BJP leader and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has strongly criticised the Karnataka government’s ₹18,000 crore tunnel road project, calling it “unscientific” and “bound to fail.”

Tejasvi Surya also questioned the integrity of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), which was prepared at a cost of ₹9.5 crore. (FILE)

He alleged that the Congress government is systematically neglecting public transport in the city while pushing forward with projects that are financially and environmentally unsound.

The proposed tunnel road, planned between Hebbal and Silk Board, has been mired in controversy from the start. Surya highlighted several concerns, beginning with the limited access, the tunnel is expected to be open only to four-wheelers and would require commuters to pay a toll of ₹600 per return journey.

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Check out his post here:

He also questioned the integrity of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), which was prepared at a cost of ₹9.5 crore by a consultant who had reportedly been blacklisted elsewhere. "Even after such an exorbitant cost, several sections of the DPR were allegedly copied from another report," he said.

Calling the tunnel an “unscientific solution” to Bengaluru’s growing mobility challenges, Surya warned that the project could end up becoming a massive drain on public funds. He pointed to the proposed 40 per cent Viability Gap Funding, under which the state government would cover an additional ₹7,200 crore to compensate for the project's projected losses.

Taking a direct swipe at Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Surya posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Thank you, @DKShivakumar, for neglecting crucial civic issues such as potholes, underfunding public transport, delaying Metro projects, withholding Fare Fixation Committee reports, and pushing forward with an unscientific project.”

Surya’s remarks came in response to a post by Shivakumar, who promoted the tunnel project on X, calling it a game-changer for Bengaluru’s traffic woes. “Your time matters. We’re building with you in mind,” Shivakumar wrote, outlining the project's key promises — the ability to skip over 25 traffic bottlenecks, save more than 45 minutes of daily commute time, enjoy 16.75 km of seamless, signal-free travel, and get direct access to the IT corridor. “A faster, smarter Bengaluru is on its way — because you deserve better,” he added.

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