Bengaluru Tunnel Project Sparks “India vs Singapore’’ Urban Debate

BM TEAM

BENGALURU, July 15, 2025: A proposed ₹18,500‑crore tunnel highway beneath Bengaluru has ignited intense debate over urban planning and transportation priorities. The controversy pits advocates of private vehicle infrastructure against proponents of mass transit and sustainable urban design.

Surya slams tunnel as “elitist deadweight”

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, representing Bangalore South, dismissed the Hebbal–Silk Board tunnel project as a “deadweight” favouring the “elite 10%” of car owners, while ordinary commuters gain little. He criticised the planned ₹660 toll, ₹7,100‑crore viability‑gap subsidy, and questioned the project’s cost‑benefit rationale. Surya contrasted this with a projected carrying capacity of only 1,600 cars per hour—dwarfed by a Metro alternative capable of moving 25,000 passengers hourly.  

Surya also exposed procedural irregularities, claiming the Detailed Project Report (DPR) reused data from cities like Nashik and Malegaon, and alleging that the consulting firms involved have been linked to previous blacklists and alleged scams in Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. He further accused state officials of bypassing Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) approvals. 

Vembu invokes Singapore to advocate for public transit

Backing Surya’s critique, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu contrasted India’s tunnel proposal with Singapore’s urban planning model. He pointed to Singapore’s extensive public-transport infrastructure and its Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system, which imposes a cost exceeding SGD 100,000 (approx ₹67 lakh) to own a private car. Vembu emphasised that densely populated Indian cities must follow suit by significantly expanding public transit to enhance urban livability. 

Grassroots conversation on sustainability

Social-media users echoed the debate, with one user noting:

“People often mistake public infrastructure for bigger roads and bridges. Real public infrastructure is systems that even the elite will use.”   

Others pondered whether it’s more effective to build transit from scratch or retrofit existing infrastructure, reflecting a growing public appetite for structural reform in urban mobility. ()

Project background

In June, the Karnataka government approved twin tunnel corridors spanning 16.6 km between Hebbal and Silk Board Junction under a Build‑Own‑Operate‑Transfer (BOOT) structure. Private contractors will recuperate investment via a car toll of around ₹330 per trip (higher for multi-axle vehicles), increasing annually with inflation but capped at 40%. Construction tenders are expected to be issued in the coming days. 

The core issue: roads or rail?

This debate encapsulates a broader dilemma in India’s cities: Should government focus on vehicle-centered infrastructure to unclog roads, or should it invest in mass transit systems and regulatory tools that discourage car ownership?

Surya argues for scaling up BMTC’s 6,800 buses to 16,580 by 2031, and extending Metro coverage from just 78 km today to 317 km. Meanwhile, Vembu insists that without disincentivising private automobiles—as seen in Singapore—expanding roads alone won’t solve congestion problems.