December deadline set for Bengaluru International Airport elevated corridor

Bengaluru: Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Sarvey Sathyanarayana was visibly upset on seeing the condition of the road connecting Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) and directed NHAI authorities and contractors to throw open the road by December. Following representations made by public, Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owner’s Association (BTTOA) Sathyanarayana inspected the road and said that if contractor Navayuga failed to comply with the December deadline, the government would take punitive measures. The project has been delayed by one year. The contractor has sought for an extension till December. During the three-hour long inspection of the elevated road, he was accompanied by NHAI authorities and BTTOA representatives. The minister said that certain issues and complaints raised by the public were genuine. The surface of the road is uneven and unfriendly for movement of vehicles. He directed the contractor to set it right. As for providing service roads there were some land acquisition issues with other departments, he added. “The interdepartmental co-ordination between defence, railways and other departments need to be done and I have already spoken to the officials. Decks will be cleared to provide adequate width for service roads. The contractor has been directed to complete the project before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,” he said. Land has to be acquired from Army at Hebbal, Border Security Force (BSF) at Yelahanka and Railways at Vidyanagar after holding talks with the representatives concerned. Since the Union Railway Minister is from the state it would not be tough to get the things done, Sathyanarayana said. He urged the commuters and public to be co-operative and extend their support for three more months. He said land belonging to mosque, temple and other prayer halls have to be acquired with support from public. Will look into toll: Sarvey Sathyanarayana Bengaluru: Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Sarvey Sathyanarayana said that the toll collection at BIA road by Navayuga. After inspecting the road, he said the details of the agreement have to be looked into as to what provisions are allowing the concessionaire to collect the toll in the absence of service road and even before the completion of the elevated road. He said that he learnt that Navayuga was collecting the toll at the instance of the high court. According to NHAI authorities, the collection of toll was part of the bidding. A senior NHAI official said that earlier, NHAI had developed the Bellary Road into six lane from two lanes through Afcon Infrastructure at Rs 150 crore. NHAI was entitled to collect the toll. However, to avoid multiple agencies, Navayuga was authorised to collect the toll.