LoP to head a meeting on Jalahalli underpass project: Shivakumar

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that a meeting would be con-vened under the chairmanship of the Leader of the Opposition to review the progress of the Jalahalli underpass project, with the participation of concerned legislators and offi-cials.

Replying to a question raised by BJP MLA Muniraj during the Question Hour in the Leg-islative Assembly, Shivakumar provided details of the project and the issues surround-ing compensation and land acquisition.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the underpass project had been awarded to PGB, a contracting firm, in 2021 at an estimated cost of Rs 57 crore. Compensation had already been paid to 48 property owners, amounting to Rs 85 crore. He said the total estimated cost for land acquisition stood at Rs 139 crore.

He added that 26 property owners were yet to hand over their land, for which compen-sation of Rs 53 crore was pending.

The compensation could be provided either in the form of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) or monetary payment. Shivakumar said that if MLA Muniraj held discussions with the remaining landowners, the issue could be resolved and work could commence. He noted that Jalahalli was a major traffic congestion zone and said the demands of the affected property owners were reasona-ble.

During the discussion, BJP MLA Munirathna raised concerns about several flyover pro-jects being stalled in his constituency and urged the Deputy Chief Minister to convene a meeting of all MLAs to address their grievances. Responding to this, Shivakumar said he was answering the specific question raised by Muniraj and advised Munirathna to raise his concerns separately on the floor of the House, assuring that he would respond accordingly.

Responding to a question by MLA ST Somashekar regarding delays in white-topping work on Holiday Village Road, Shivakumar said constituencies such as Bommanahalli, Bengaluru South and Yeshwanthpur were large and complex. He said he had personally visited the work site in Somashekar’s constituency and that the project had been awarded to Ocean Construction.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the delay was due to utility-related issues, including the shifting of BWSSB infrastructure and power lines. While stating that blacklisting contrac-tors was not difficult, he emphasised that completing the work was the priority.

He as-sured the House that special attention was being given to Somashekar’s constituency and that he would personally speak to the contractor to expedite the work.