Karnataka State Road Development Corporation (KRDCL) has been instructed to re-tender the work of improvement and maintenance of 12 high-traffic-density corridors in Bengaluru, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
Answering a question by Congress member P.R. Ramesh in the legislative Council on December 23, the Chief Minister said the government noticed many loopholes during a review of the tenders that had been finalised. While the cost of development of roads is ₹335.17 crore, the cost of their maintenance for five years had been pegged at ₹785.31 crore.
“Why maintenance would require so much amount? Roads with white-topping hardly require maintenance. Moreover, a blacklisted contractor was also finalised for a project. Considering these issues, the government has instructed the corporation to re-tender,” he explained.
Demo stretch
The government has identified 12 roads, measuring total length of 191 km, as high-traffic-density corridors. They are Ballari Road, Old Madras Road, Old Airport Road, four stretches of Outer Ring Road, Sarjapura Road, Hosur Road, Bannerghatta Road, Kanakapura Road, Magadi Road, Tumakuru Road, West of Chord Road.
Demo stretches would be laid out on Old Airport Road and Magadi Road. The improvement of Old Airport Road is expected to cost ₹4.65 crore and Magadi Road ₹4.70 crore, the CM said.
The roads had been selected considering the traffic density, and they were all stretches connecting the State capital with various parts of Karnataka.
