Surya questions K’taka govt over delay in procuring 4,500 centrally sanctioned buses

Bengaluru, June 29 (IANS) BJP National Yuva Morcha President and Bengaluru South MP, Tejasvi Surya, on Monday accused the Karnataka government of neglecting public transport while prioritising expensive infrastructure projects, questioning why it was reluctant to contribute its share of funds to procure and operationalise 4,500 electric buses sanctioned to Bengaluru under the Government of India’s PM e-Drive scheme.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Surya said the Central government had approved 4,500 buses for the city and the proposal had also received the Karnataka Cabinet’s approval. However, he alleged that the state government was delaying the procurement despite being required to contribute only a small share of the total cost.

“The Central government has sanctioned 4,500 buses for Bengaluru. The state government only has to contribute a minimal amount to procure these buses. If the government has thousands of crores of rupees to spend on projects like the proposed tunnel road, why does it not have the money to invest in public transport?” he asked.

Surya alleged that the government was functioning only for car owners and the elite while ignoring lakhs of citizens who rely on BMTC buses and Namma Metro for their daily commute.

“This government exists only for car owners and the elite. It does not exist for BMTC and Metro commuters. I have already raised this issue in Parliament, and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has also responded to it,” he said.

Criticising the government’s infrastructure priorities, Surya referred to recent remarks made by Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who had argued that short flyovers do not resolve traffic congestion.

“If the Minister himself says short flyovers such as those at Ragigudda and Silk Board have failed to solve traffic problems, how can a short tunnel road solve Bengaluru’s traffic woes? If a Rs 300-crore flyover has not eased congestion, how will a Rs 1,200-crore tunnel road do so? Whom are they trying to mislead? What do they think of the people of Bengaluru?” he questioned.

He further alleged that the state government had undertaken “unscientific” infrastructure projects that would not benefit the city while neglecting investments in public transport.

Surya alleged that, in the eyes of the government, ordinary citizens had become “second-class citizens.”

“Women who commute by bus every day and pedestrians are no longer a priority for this government. This is a VIP government that is chasing ‘white elephant’ mega projects where commissions can be made, while neglecting the basic transportation needs of the common people,” Surya alleged.

He reiterated that the government’s reluctance to release its share of funds for the bus procurement project reflected misplaced priorities and urged it to focus on strengthening Bengaluru’s public transport system instead of pursuing costly infrastructure projects.

Speaking about Bengaluru’s local infrastructure, Tejasvi Surya said that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, during his earlier tenure as Deputy Chief Minister, had personally performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a skywalk (pedestrian overbridge) near the Banashankari BMTC Bus Stand for the convenience of commuters and pedestrians.

“However, the project has now been stalled midway. Instead, the government appears to have abandoned the skywalk after listening to a contractor and is now planning to construct a flyover at the same location,” he alleged.

–IANS

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