Bus lanes quietly dropped from Bengaluru tunnel road plan? ‘Private road for the privileged,’ says PC Mohan

Bengaluru MP PC Mohan criticized the proposed tunnel road for its high toll of ₹660 daily, deeming it a private expressway for the elite.

As debate intensifies over Bengaluru’s proposed tunnel road project, Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan on Friday took to social media to criticise the final Detailed Project Report (DPR), which he claimed quietly drops bus lanes, a move he described as discriminatory and exclusionary.

PC Mohan went on to highlight the financial burden such a toll would impose on average citizens. (X/Maheshwar Rao.M, IAS)

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mohan questioned the project’s intent and accessibility, calling it a private expressway for the privileged. “Tunnel road final DPR quietly drops bus lanes, once again making it clear that the tunnel is only for those rich people who can afford ₹660 toll, not for the common Bengalurean. On one hand, they talk of free bus rides; on the other, they erase bus infrastructure itself,” he wrote.

Mohan went on to highlight the financial burden such a toll would impose on average citizens. “How many Bengalureans can actually afford ₹660 a day? That’s nearly ₹20,000 a month just to use this tunnel. This is not public infrastructure but a private expressway for the privileged, funded by taxpayers,” he said, calling the project "a discriminatory, exclusionary, and anti–public transport move."

Tejasvi Surya also slams project as a ‘vanity scheme’

Mohan’s remarks echo the long-standing criticism from Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, who has labelled the tunnel project a "vanity scheme" designed to benefit only a small section of the city’s elite. Surya has repeatedly argued that the ₹18,500 crore project, which proposes an 18-km tunnel connecting key neighbourhoods, disproportionately serves car-owning residents of areas like Koramangala and Sadashivnagar.

“It will benefit just 10% of Bengaluru’s car-owning elite while 90% of the city continues to suffer from inadequate public transport,” Surya had said in earlier posts. He also questioned the project’s staggering cost, comparing it unfavourably with other major infrastructure works like the Mumbai Coastal Road, the Atal Tunnel, and the Bengaluru–Mysuru Expressway. “Will they build it with golden bricks?” he asked in a previous social media post.

With several leaders from the opposition party expressing strong opposition to the project, the tunnel road proposal continues to face growing scrutiny, not only over its feasibility and cost, but also over its lack of inclusivity and departure from the city's stated commitment to strengthening public transport.

(With agency inputs)