Tejasvi Surya Dismisses DK Shivakumar’s Tunnel Proposal, Says It Won’t Ease Bengaluru Traffic

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday escalated his criticism of the Karnataka government’s proposed tunnel road network.

Accusing Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of relying on “political endorsement” rather than scientific urban planning to justify the multi-crore project. His remarks came a day after Shivakumar shared an expert report on X, describing tunnels as “the only solution” to Bengaluru’s chronic traffic congestion. The report — authored by an engineer who also serves as a Congress spokesperson — argues that multilayer corridors supported by an underground tunnel system are essential for easing gridlock.

Surya, however, dismissed the study as partisan and “deeply flawed”. In a detailed rebuttal on X, he said the report pushes an “unviable and unscientific” proposal and reflects a “poor understanding of urban mobility and transportation science”. “Bengaluru needs evidence-based planning, not political engineering,” he wrote.

‘TUNNELS WILL MAKE MATTERS WORSE’

Reasserting his long-held objections, Surya said the issue was not technical feasibility but the project’s inefficiency. “These tunnels will not decongest Bengaluru — they will make it worse,” he said.

Citing global transit benchmarks, he argued that mass rapid transport systems can move up to 70,000 passengers per hour per direction, whereas tunnels would carry only around 1,800 cars in the same period. Building them, he said, would amount to spending public money on a “VIP private-vehicle corridor” for a small section of commuters, while diverting attention from high-capacity public transport.

Surya also highlighted environmental and geological risks, claiming the expert report “conveniently ignores” concerns involving the city’s hydrology and potential damage to the 3-billion-year-old Lalbagh rock formation. He said the proposal lacked assessments from key agencies, including the National Institute of Rock Mechanics and the Geological Survey of India.

COST QUESTIONS RETURN

The BJP MP renewed his attack on the project’s estimated cost, saying the report claims a per-km cost of ₹440 crore while the Detailed Project Report (DPR) pegs it at over ₹1,000 crore per kilometre. The costing gap mirrors earlier BJP objections from October, when party leaders questioned the project’s financial viability and alleged the state government was pushing ahead without adequate technical scrutiny.

SHIVAKUMAR DEFENDS TUNNEL PUSH

Shivakumar, however, has stood by the proposal, saying the new study validates the need for tunnel infrastructure and asserting that “Bengaluru needs multilayer solutions” to break free from its traffic crisis. He accused the BJP of obstructing major mobility projects during its tenure and said the Congress government would prioritise solutions that serve the public interest.

Shivakumar maintains that Bengaluru’s surface-level infrastructure has reached saturation and that future mobility demands will require both vertical and underground development.

METRO VS TUNNEL: THE STRATEGIC CLASH

The latest exchange once again spotlights the competing visions for Bengaluru’s mobility future — one centred on high-speed tunnels and multilayer corridors, the other on expanding metro lines, suburban rail and high-capacity bus systems.

With feasibility studies and funding models still under review, the state government is expected to hold crucial discussions in the coming weeks, even as technical agencies continue their preliminary evaluations of the controversial project.