Activists and experts have called the Rs 26,000 crore project a “disaster in making,” claiming nearly 6 acres of Lalbagh land would be lost.
Published Oct 15, 2025 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 15, 2025 | 8:00 AM
Whether the expert committee's report will come as a blow to Shivakumar's plans is yet to be seen.
Synopsis: Bengaluru’s proposed 16.75 km tunnel road from Hebbal to Silk Board faces opposition over environmental concerns, particularly damage to Lal Bagh’s ecosystem. Experts criticize the rushed DPR, lacking sufficient soil tests and an EIA. Critics, including civic groups, warn it may increase private vehicle use, worsening traffic. The Congress-BJP clash intensifies, while Deputy CM Shivakumar defends the ₹26,000 crore project.
Another ambitious project mooted for Brand Bengaluru – a 16.75 km tunnel road project (TRP) connecting Hebbal and Silk Board junction – has run into multiple layers of opposition ever since the approval of its construction during the state’s budget speech in May 2025. From environmental concerns to worries about how the project would damage Lal Bagh, one of the largest lung spaces in the city, that comprises a lake and ancient rock formations – the project is also now the bone of contention between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP.
Proposed by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who also holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, the project aims to reduce traffic congestion in the city – ranked the third-worst in the world in 2024 on a global index (TomTom traffic index).
“The tunnel can help commuters skip 25 traffic bottlenecks and cut travel time from 90 minutes to 45 minutes,” Shivakumar said in a post on X earlier this year.
However, over the last few months, experts, activists, research studies and even government-appointed committees have pointed out deep flaws within the project.
One such expert committee appointed by the Karnataka Urban Development Department to review the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project has come out with stark findings, adding to the existing opposition to the project. The report declared that the DPR had been prepared in a hurry and relied on only four soil test points for planning the tunnel which were far ‘too few’ for a project of this scale.
The committee’s report, which was submitted to the government, flagged multiple shortcomings in the project, including lack of a field survey during the DPR.
“It is noted that the alignment is running almost parallel to the proposed metro line and one of the shafts has been located within Lal Bagh Botanical Garden which is an environmentally sensitive area,” the committee noted. Despite these warnings and concerns, the government is still firm on going ahead with the project.
Whether the report will come as a blow to Shivakumar’s plans is yet to be seen. However, the Deputy CM continued to publicly advocate for the project, even during a recent discussion organised by the Bengaluru Political Action Committee (B.PAC) in collaboration with Mount Carmel College.
“If I touch Lalbagh, the citizens will break my head. If I take Cubbon Park, will they leave me? I told them not to bring the tunnel-road exit near Vidhana Soudha, so we shifted it near Freedom Park,” he said. Freedom Park is currently the only designated spot for protests in the city, as declared by the city police.
Civic groups, activists and experts have called the Rs 26,000 crore project a “disaster in the making,” claiming nearly six acres of Lalbagh land would be lost, potentially causing irreversible harm to its trees, soil, lake, and ecosystem.
The DPR clearly states that as part of the project, shafts along with intermediate stations are proposed at five locations along the tunnel alignment: Hebbal Junction, Mekhri Circle, Race Course Road, Lalbagh, and Silk Board Junction.
Additionally, the historic Lal Bagh rock, which was declared as a National Geological monument as it is a visible part of the Dharwar Craton, falls under the tunnel road’s transition zone.
“Further south, in the Lal Bagh area, the bed rock is in a transition zone. The alignment is set to cross a prominent lineament, with the Lal Bagh lake in the vicinity and the Grey Granite bedrock in contact with Hornblende Granite,” the DPR stated.
Rajkumar Dugar, Founder and Convenor of Citizens for Citizens (C4C) expressed concerns over the two 15 meter diameter tunnels and two 10 meter diameter ramps, which will be made using powerful tunnel boring machines, through this rock. A massive ventilation shaft will also be built nearby, he said, to ventilate around 2-4 kms of the tunnel on each side. Since vehicles emit gases like CO₂, CO, NOx and suspended particulate matter inside the tunnels and ramps, the shaft will be like a “chimney” inside Lal Bagh, he said.
“Geological consequences are likely due to fractures, shear zones, fault zones, major lineament passing through the stretch of TRP alignment including Lalbagh,” he said.
Although the project is being touted as a solution to the problem of traffic congestion in the city, a study by Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru Sustainable Transportation Lab showed that introducing such tunnel corridors could cause a major shift from public to private vehicle usage, since it encourages more cars on the road.
If such projects go through, the study said that the share of commuters using the Metropolitan Rail Transport System (MRTS) is expected to drop from 43.5 percent to 42.2 percent by 2041, which will in turn reduce the usage of the overall public transport and non-motorised transport (NMT) from 81.9 percent to 75.6 percent – ironically adding to the traffic congestion in the city.
Currently, cars occupy eight times more space than buses in the city, while two-wheelers take up five times more space, according to another report by the IISc.
“A person travelling on a car takes up 38 times more space on Bengaluru Metropolitan Region (BMR) roads during peak hours when compared to someone on a bus, while a two-wheeler traveller uses 4.8 times more space,” the report said.
Dugar too reiterated that traffic cannot be reduced by adding road infrastructure like tunnel roads, elevated roads, in Bengaluru, whose rate of growth in population and vehicles is not sustainable.
“The most practical and globally tried, tested and accepted step to free the roads, is an effective, efficient and extensive public transport system,” he said.
For Bengaluru, this would mean adding thousands of small e-buses, shuttle autos, expedite work on the metro and the suburban rail which was sanctioned five years ago.
“Any steps which actually reduce the rate of growth of vehicles will help. TRP does the exact opposite,” Dugar said.
Meanwhile, the state-appointed committee has also highlighted the lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to locate groundwater or aquifers along the proposed alignment. In fact, the DPR left out nine important “required elements” including the EIA, tree enumeration and relocation plan, social impact assessment report and comprehensive disaster management and security plan among others.
Civic activist Dattatreya T Devare questioned the need for such a project even after a government-appointed committee pointed out flaws in the DPR.
“Looking at the flaws in the DPR (as analysed by the Expert Committee), there are serious doubts if the project would solve the problem of traffic congestion. Government should cancel this project and concentrate on public transport including metro, suburban rail and BMTC which are part of the Comprehensive Mobility Plan,” Devare told South First.
Amidst growing opposition, the Deputy CM has proposed similar tunnel road projects across other parts of the city. In August 2025, he announced that he state government is planning a 1.5-km tunnel road from Esteem Mall in Hebbal to GKVK University.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
