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Bodies under GBA will raise funds through civic bonds: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru's city corporations can raise funds via municipal bonds for infrastructure, with a focus on ongoing projects and a ₹7,000 crore grant for development.
The chief minister on Friday announced that the five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will be allowed to raise funds for infrastructure projects through municipal bonds.
While presenting the 2026–27 state budget, Siddaramaiah said corporations would mobilise resources based on their financial capacity. Although the budget listed several infrastructure measures for the state capital, most relate to projects already underway or expansions of existing programmes rather than entirely new initiatives.
The chief minister noted that financial support for the city had increased significantly in the previous financial year. “In the year 2025–26, the state government increased the grant for development of Bengaluru from ₹3,000 crore ₹7,000 crore. This grant will continue This year as well.” Notable infrastructure projects mentioned in the speech include a plan to extend durable road surfaces across the city at an estimated cost of ₹3,000 crore in the next three years and expansion of the Namma Metro network by 41 kilometres.
The system currently operates over 96 km and carries around 100,000 commuters daily. “It is proposed to complete a total of 41 km of additional metro lines during the financial year 2026–27. This will benefit approximately 1.5 million commuters daily,” said the chief minister.
The chief minister also referred to the investment made in the project so far. “Out of ₹67,460 crore expenditure incurred till date, state share is ₹59,376 crore and central share is ₹8,084 crore.”
A pedestrian facility is also planned along the Outer Ring Road metro corridor. “A 9 km long pedestrian walkway along the metro viaduct on the Outer Ring Road will be constructed at an estimated cost of ₹160 crore.”
Among major traffic-related projects mentioned in the speech was the Bengaluru Business Corridor Phase-1, a 73 km route between Tumakuru Road and Hosur Road, where land acquisition is currently in progress.
The government also reiterated plans for tunnel corridors across the city. “The North–South Corridor project from Hebbal Junction to HSR Layout Silk Board and the East–West Corridor project from K.R. Puram to Mysore Road, covering a total of 40 km of tunnel roads, have been approved at an estimated cost of ₹40,000 crore under the BOOT model.”
