Bengaluru, Nov 12 (PTI) BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Thursday accused the Karnataka government of misleading people over the funding pattern of Bengaluru Metro projects, alleging that it had counted nearly Rs 29,000 crore in Centre-guaranteed loans as its own contribution to claim a higher share of expenditure.
His remarks came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of the Metro’s Pink Line on Friday.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Surya challenged Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda’s claim that Karnataka was bearing 84 per cent of the Metro project cost and the Centre only 16 per cent.
He said the actual funding share was 46 per cent for the state and 54 per cent for the Centre.
“The person who is ultimately funding all this is the ordinary Kannadiga taxpayer. It is 100 per cent the taxpayer who is financing these projects through his tax contributions,” the Bengaluru South MP said.
Explaining the funding structure, Surya said Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) was a 50:50 joint venture between the Centre and the state, with each government contributing Rs 9,164 crore as equity.
He alleged that the state government had counted Rs 28,958 crore in foreign loans, guaranteed by the Centre and routed through BMRCL, as part of its own contribution.
Referring to official BMRCL documents, he claimed that the Centre’s share worked out to 54 per cent and the state’s to 46 per cent.
He said land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement costs, and state-level taxes were the responsibility of Karnataka under the Metro agreement.
Accusing Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Gowda of misrepresenting the figures, Surya said, “BMRCL and the state government are two different entities. An attempt is being made to confuse the two and mislead the people.”
On the delay in the proposed Orange Line, Surya alleged that repeated design changes, including proposals for a double-decker structure and alterations to the alignment, had held up the project despite its approval in 2024.
The state had changed the designs three times and submitted revised Detailed Project Reports, he said.
Turning to the proposed Red Line under Phase III-A, he said the state’s initial proposal of Rs 28,405 crore had been reduced to Rs 25,999 crore after an independent review sought by the Centre, resulting in savings of Rs 2,406 crore.
The original proposal worked out to Rs 776 crore per kilometre, he said. The proposal is pending with the Centre, he added.
Surya further alleged that the state government had dropped the proposed Veterinary College Metro station from the revised Red Line alignment to accommodate other infrastructure projects, including a short tunnel at Hebbal and an elevated corridor towards Mehkri Circle.
Citing the Karnataka Finance Department’s observations on those projects, he said the department had questioned the absence of a proper DPR and feasibility report, the expenditure of Rs 1,385 crore on a 2.9-km stretch and the project’s ability to resolve traffic congestion.
Quoting the department’s proceedings, he said, “No integrated planning is putting metro connectivity at risk.”
On the Pink Line, he said the project had taken 12 years to reach its present stage, with only a 7.5-km elevated section being inaugurated while the underground stretch remained unopened.
The Union Cabinet had approved the project on January 30, 2014, when the UPA government was in power at the Centre and the Congress was ruling Karnataka, he said.
The state government awarded the civil construction contract for the elevated section only in September 2017, he added.
Surya alleged that the Congress-JD(S) government cancelled earlier underground tunnel tenders during 2018-19, while tunnelling work resumed under the subsequent BJP government in August 2020. By February 2023, 72 per cent of the tunnelling work had been completed, he claimed.
Surya’s press conference came a day after Gowda said the combined project outlay stood at Rs 77,891 crore. Of this, Karnataka was bearing Rs 65,291 crore, or approximately 84 per cent, while the Centre’s contribution was only Rs 12,600 crore, or around 16 per cent.
“The state is effectively investing nearly five rupees for every rupee contributed by the Centre,” Gowda had said.
He had said the actual financial burden on Karnataka was far removed from the 50:50 funding arrangement often cited for Metro projects.
The minister had pointed out that the Centre’s contribution had declined significantly across successive phases. While the central government’s capital contribution was substantially higher in the initial phase, its share had fallen in subsequent phases and stood at around 16 per cent in the combined funding calculation, he had said.
Gowda said the state government had decided to make a formal appeal to Modi during his visit, seeking a greater central contribution towards Bengaluru’s Metro infrastructure and time-bound approvals for pending projects, particularly the Sarjapur–Hebbal Red Line. PTI GMS SSK
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