NICE opposes peripheral ring road project

Vijay Times

Bangalore: Chief Minister Dharam Singh’s ambitious project of constructing a peripheral ring road (PRR) to ease traffic is being opposed by the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), which is implementing the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) highway project.

NICE’s contention is that a part of the PRR, to be developed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), is parallel to the proposed 41-km peripheral road being constructed by it, from Tumkur Road to Hosur Road. Sources in the State Government told Vijay Times that NICE had written a letter to the Government saying that if the PRR was constructed parallel to the BMIC Road, it would lose revenue in the form of toll tax.

“Why will people pay and use the BMIC Road? They will instead use the PRR, which will be toll tax free,” BMIC officials said.
The BMIC Road starts near Anchepalya on Tumkur Road and touches Hosur Road, near Konnappa Agrahara, passing through Mysore Road. This stretch of the road will be taken up in the first phase of the BMIC project.

On the flip side, the proposed PRR will cover a distance of 109 km and will be located approximately between 2.8 km and 11.5 km away from the existing outer ring road, and 14 km to 22 km away from the heart of the City. This 60-metre-wide road will have two carriage ways and six lanes, which will connect major highways like Tumkur Road, Mysore Road, Old Madras Road and Hosur Road.

It may be recalled that the then chief minister S M Krishna had mooted a proposal to construct the 68-km PRR that would meet the BMIC Road near Anchepalya.

The BDA had planned the road at an estimated cost of Rs 750 crore. However, the present Government has revised the plan and wants to construct the entire stretch of the 109-km road.