BENGALURU: The state government is ready to grab Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari’s offer to build the city’s Peripheral Ring Road with both hands. Officials from the Public Works and Urban Development departments are planning a trip to New Delhi to discuss the finer points of the Centre’s offer.
Confirming the developments to Deccan Chronicle, Minister for Infrastructure Development R.V. Deshpande said, “We welcome Mr Gadkari's offer of sharing 50 percent of the cost of the project. But we have not received any official response on the offer.”
He said, “As the minister of infrastructure development, I met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on September 9 and discussed about Mr Gadkari's offer. After the meeting, the chief minister directed officials of the PWD and Urban Development Department to visit Mr Gadkari's office in Delhi.” He hoped that the officials will visit Delhi next week. “The Peripheral Ring Road should ease traffic to a large extent,” he said.
“The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 12,000 crore, of which Rs 8,000 crore is needed to acquire the land. Apart from Mr Gadkari's offer, we are already looking at other avenues to generate funds for the project,” he said. Asked when the peripheral ring road project will be completed, he said it will depend on how fast the government can mobilise the funds.
