‘Union Minister Khattar praised tunnel road project’: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar

BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) DK Shivakumar on Thursday said that the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar praised the tunnel road, flyover, and B khata conversion initiatives of the state government.

“We have presented before him our demands for the state, but he has not assured any funds,” Shivakumar said while speaking to reporters after attending the meeting of Urban development ministers of Southern states.

Asked what was discussed in the meeting, he said, “Bengaluru is an important city. The Union Minister also reiterated the words of the PM in appreciating the city. There were urban-centric projects in the past, and they have now been discontinued. The Centre has not adhered to the promise of the 15th Financial Commission. We have communicated our requirements to the 16th Finance Commission.”

“We updated him on reforms in urbanisation, administration of local bodies, formation of GBA and others. We apprised him of not just Bengaluru but all towns and cities in the state,” he added.

“Ministers Byrathi Suresh and Rahim Khan spoke about changes needed in towns and cities. Urbanisation process is good in Karnataka, and we have explained how local bodies function in Karnataka,” he informed.

“This meeting was held in Bengaluru upon our request. Urban Development ministers from five states participated in the meeting. Ministers of state and officials also attended the event. The Union Minister held separate meetings with each of the state representatives,” he added.

Earlier, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar hit back at BJP leader and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya over his opposition to the tunnel road project and questioned his authority to show opposition to government projects.

“Who is this Tejaswi Surya to say no to tunnel roads? He should decide in the Lok Sabha after becoming a Union Minister that there should be no tunnel roads in this country and in the world,” he said. The senior Congress leader questioned the previous government about infrastructure projects in the State.

“We are the ones who brought the metro to this state. What did they do when they were in power? What did they bring from the centre? How many pillars did they put up in Bengaluru? How much money did they bring for the project? The central government is providing 11-12 per cent of the money for the metro project. We are providing everything ourselves, including land compensation,” he said.

BJP leader and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday slammed DK Shivakumar, accusing him of rejecting key public transport proposals while pushing an “extremely costly” 18-kilometre Tunnel Road project, which he dubbed a “matrimonial project”. (ANI)