Over the past year, the Congress government in Karnataka has repeatedly claimed that it had ‘no money’ to run public transport. In January, BMTC fares were increased by 15%, and ridership fell by 5.7%. Just a month later, metro fares were hiked by 71% and ridership dropped by almost 16%. The government justified that it needed to recover operational costs and repay loans. Yet, while saying that it cannot afford to maintain basic public transport, it is eagerly taking on massive new loans and inviting private companies into highly expensive projects like the Bengaluru tunnel road.
The tunnel road is being aggressively pushed as a ‘solution to Bengaluru’s traffic’, but its nature, cost, and planning reveal something entirely different. This is a pet project of Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, who is not only a powerful politician but also a major real estate figure in the state. The tunnel is planned to run for around 17 km, from Hebbal to Silk Board, making it one of Karnataka’s most expensive urban transport projects. Only private cars will be allowed inside. Two-wheelers, buses and autos are not permitted. The estimated cost is between ₹17,000 and ₹20,000 crore for just the first stretch, with plans for another tunnel from KR Puram to Nayandahalli that could add another ₹25,000 crore. Instead of improving public transport, the government is pouring tens of thousands of crores into a car-only tunnel that will ‘benefit’ a very small section of Bengaluru’s population.
The money for this project is coming through a public-private-partnership model. More than half the funding will come from private companies, while most of the public share will also be taken as loans. These loans will, in the end, be repaid by the people. Companies like the Adani Group, Dilip Buildcon, Vishwa Samudra Engineering and RVNL (Rail Vikas Nigam Limited) have already submitted bids. Whoever wins will be allowed to operate the tunnel and collect tolls for 30 to 40 years, with tolls expected to be very high. This arrangement creates a permanent profit pipeline for corporations, while ordinary people, especially those who rely on buses, autos, and two-wheelers, will gain nothing.
The government claims that the tunnel will reduce traffic, avoid land acquisition since it is underground, and cause no environmental harm. But none of these claims stand up to even basic scrutiny. There is no Environmental Impact Assessment. Only bare minimum geological or hydrological studies have been done. No biodiversity studies. Even flood-risk studies are missing, despite Bengaluru’s well-known flooding problems. Experts have pointed out that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) has major flaws. It was prepared in a rush, and parts of the first draft of it appeared to be copy-pasted from Mumbai’s tunnel project and even BMRCL metro documents. The DPR was prepared by Rodic Consultants, the same company linked to the Silkyara tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand, where a government investigation found serious negligence, including misrepresented data and ignored warning signs. Even Bengaluru’s own mobility bodies, like the DULT (Directorate of Urban Land Transport) and BMLTA (Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority) have raised objections, saying the tunnel goes against the city’s Comprehensive Mobility Plan and the Bengaluru Climate Action Plan. The environmental risks are even more serious. The tunnel will pass under Lalbagh, an ecologically sensitive and historic landmark that contains rock formations nearly three billion years old. Experts warn that drilling through these rock layers can destabilise soil, disturb groundwater flow, and increase the risk of flooding. The tunnel also intersects with the underground metro alignment, which makes it even more dangerous from an engineering point of view.
Traffic experts have made it clear that the tunnel will not reduce congestion, rather it may worsen. Studies by IISc show that the tunnel can carry only around 1,200 to 1,800 passengers per hour in one direction. BMTC buses on the same corridor could carry four times as many. Metro and suburban rail could carry twenty to sixty times as many. Yet the government is choosing the least efficient and most exclusive option. To make matters worse, accessing the nearest entry ramp will sometimes require driving around four kilometres extra. The idea that private car tunnels will reduce traffic goes against basic transport planning principles and examples from around the world. This is a clear case of induced demand or Braess’s Paradox: when you build more road space for cars, more people buy cars, and traffic actually gets worse.
Since 2017 to 2024, two-wheelers in the city increased from 55.42 lakh to 78.33 lakh, and cars increased from 17.75 lakh to 25.13 lakh. During the same period, the number of BMTC buses actually decreased. This shows how public transport has been consistently neglected. The real solution to congestion lies in investing in more buses, expanding the metro and suburban rail, improving last-mile connectivity, and making public transport accessible and affordable. The Shakti scheme already increased participation of women in the work force by 23%, showing what public transport can achieve. Instead of strengthening these systems, the government is choosing a project that offers no real benefit to the public.
There is also a deeper structural reason as to why governments in India do not invest seriously in public transport. Big automobile companies, both Indian and international, depend on constant growth in vehicle sales. If public transport becomes efficient, reliable, and affordable, people will buy fewer cars or bikes. This directly threatens the profits of these automobile giants. That is why policies that strengthen buses, suburban rail, or metro rarely receive sustained political support. If we truly want to reduce traffic, there must be strict regulation on the production of four-wheelers, heavy taxes on private car ownership, and major public investment in buses, metro, and suburban rail.
Opposition to the tunnel is growing. Civil society groups are conducting signature campaigns and planning to submit detailed representations demanding that the tender process be stopped. The National Green Tribunal has issued two notices. On 15th November, AISA, COLLECTIVE and FridaysForFuture Karnataka held a flash protest inside Lalbagh, raising concerns about the environmental damage and the lack of public consultation. Even though BJP leaders in the state are pretending to oppose the project, national leaders like Nitin Gadkari and Narendra Modi have openly praised it, showing that both Congress and BJP stand to benefit from the tunnel construction.
This tunnel project is a corporate-driven idea that will destroy the environment, increase public debt, and worsen Bengaluru’s traffic crisis. Bengaluru must reject this corporate model of development and demand infrastructure that actually serves people, not contractors and politicians.
