BMRCL’s Hebbal Site Scaled Back From 45 Acres To 9 Acres In Major Rollback of Transit-Oriented Plan

The Karnataka government has slashed the land allocated for the Namma Metro project at Hebbal from 45 acres to 9 acres, paving the way for private developers to move in with high-end hotels, commercial towers and upscale housing, Times of India reported.

The decision came after a high-level meeting on Monday (14 July), chaired by chief secretary Shalini Rajneesh, where officials from the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) announced they had scaled back their land needs.

It’s a reversal from last year, when BMRCL sought 45 acres land to build an integrated transport hub to connect metro lines, buses and other public transport seamlessly.

BMRCL had even offered over Rs 500 crore to secure the land, which the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) had acquired more than two decades ago for a tourism project that never took off.

The committee reportedly cleared the revised proposal and directed BMRCL to approach KIADB for transfer of nine acres.

Back then, senior ministers including Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had said that the land would be allocated to support the city’s growing transit needs.

Meanwhile, Former minister and Rajajinagar MLA Suresh Kumar has reportedly accused the government of sacrificing Bengaluru’s long-term interests for private gain.

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