Tunnel Road project in Bengaluru faces major setback as expert panel flags serious DPR flaw

Expert committee finds hasty DPR, environmental threats to Lalbagh, tunnel overlapping metro lines, and technical gaps in Karnataka’s ambitious Tunnel Road project, sparking criticism from Tejasvi Surya.

Bengaluru’s Tunnel Road Project, spearheaded by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, has hit a significant roadblock after an expert committee appointed by the Karnataka Urban Development Department identified serious flaws in the ₹9.5 crore Detailed Project Report (DPR). The panel, led by Siddanagouda Hegaraddi, Executive Director of BMRCL, concluded that the DPR was hastily prepared, relying on only four soil test points, far too few for a project of this magnitude.

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The committee’s report raised multiple concerns:

1.    Environmental Risk: Positioning a tunnel shaft inside Lalbagh Botanical Garden, one of Bengaluru’s largest green lung spaces, was flagged as highly sensitive.
2.    Tunnel Alignment Issues: The proposed tunnel largely parallels the planned metro line, raising questions about the necessity of the project.
3.    Traffic Studies & Lane Configuration: Traffic analysis relied on assumptions and reconnaissance surveys rather than primary data. Recommendations included providing at least two-lane configurations at entry and exit points at Palace Ground and Mehkri Circle.
4.    Technical & Planning Gaps: The DPR lacked Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), utility mapping, social impact assessment, tree enumeration, disaster management plan, hydraulic designs, and comprehensive technical specifications.
5.    Horizon Year Mismatch: The DPR considered traffic projections only until 2041, just 10 years after project completion, conflicting with standard 25-year planning norms.

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Reacting sharply to the report, Tejasvi Surya criticized the government, calling the DPR a “blatant copy-paste job” and labeling the project unscientific, unnecessary, and a vanity project. He emphasized that such a project threatens Lalbagh’s ecology, overlaps existing metro corridors, and ignores essential planning standards, urging the government to reconsider or scrap the plan entirely.

Will DCM DK Shivakumar drop this disastrous idea at least now?

The Expert Committee led by Shri Heggaraddi, appointed by the Urban Development Department, found major flaws in the ₹9.5 crore DPR for the Tunnel Road project - including a blatant copy-paste job and just four soil… pic.twitter.com/KIc8xIk6l0

— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) October 13, 2025

The report also underlined that without accurate data on modal shifts to metro and BMTC buses, lane requirements, toll projections, and congestion estimates remain unreliable. With these glaring gaps, experts warn that proceeding with the tunnel could lead to environmental, financial, and traffic-related disasters.

The Karnataka Urban Development Department is expected to review these findings, and public scrutiny along with political pressure is mounting on DCM D K Shivakumar to reconsider this ambitious but controversial project.

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