BBMP plans to build 7.22-km new road between Hebbal and Hennur Main Road in the buffer zone of SWD

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is planning to build a 7.22-km road in the buffer zone of the storm-water drain (SWD) between Hebbal and Kalkere lakes, from Hebbal military farm to Hennur Main Road at an estimated cost of ₹200 crore. This road will run parallel to the Outer Ring Road (ORR), which it hopes to decongest. 

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is planning to build a 7.22-km road in the buffer zone of the storm-water drain (SWD) between Hebbal and Kalkere lakes, from Hebbal military farm to Hennur Main Road at an estimated cost of ₹200 crore. This road will run parallel to the Outer Ring Road (ORR), which it hopes to decongest. 

Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar has been championing the idea of building new roads in the buffer zones of SWDs to expand the city’s road network. The proposal has drawn much criticism from environmental activists, but the government has gone ahead with the proposal and the Hebbal - Hennur Main Road is the first such road. 

The BBMP issued a public notice to acquire a total of 2,89,354 sqm (71.5 acres) of land in the buffer zone of the SWD between Hebbal and Kalkere lakes on Thursday. The public notice has listed a total of 149 properties, including the military dairy farm in Hebbal. Most of the properties listed for acquisition are vacant land and there are very few buildings to be acquired, which the civic body hopes will make the acquisition process easier. The civic body has said that land losers will be given transferrable development rights (TDR) in lieu of the land, which has not found favour in earlier road projects. 

The proposed road will maintain a width of 25 metres from the centre point of the SWD, as this is defined as the buffer zone for a drain. However, this new road which will add to the road network in the heavily congested area, will not be of uniform width along its length. “The width of the drain on this stretch is not uniform. So in some places the width of the road may be as wide as 24 metres and in some places 17 metres,” said a senior civic official. 

Urban transport activist Sanjeev V. Dyamannavar, also a resident of the area, said that while expanding the road network using buffer zones of SWDs is an out-of-the-box idea, there were many challenges on the ground. “Since the width of the drain is not uniform, it has been encroached upon, and there are several cases pending on these issues, the road width will also not be uniform. This may create bottlenecks on these roads,” he explained. 

He further demanded that the civic body should publish a full detailed project report (DPR) of the road project as there is no clear information in the public domain.

“For instance, this road will cut through key roads like Ballari Road, Thanisandra Main Road, and Hennur Main Road. It will also likely pass through Manyata Tech Park. How will the civic body handle these intersections, is something we are not able to understand,” he said.