Bengaluru, Nov 11 Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the state government was playing the leading role in financing the development and expansion of Namma Metro, contributing more than the Union Government across various phases of the project.
His remarks come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of the 7.5-km elevated section of the Namma Metro Pink Line on November 13.
The section runs from Kalena Agrahara to Tavarekere and Suddaguntepalya and is expected to connect with the Electronic City line at Jayadeva station.
“The Government of Karnataka is playing the leading role in financing the development and expansion of Namma Metro, contributing more than the Union Government across various phases of the project,” Shivakumar said in a post on X.
He said the state’s financial contribution extended beyond construction to land acquisition, rehabilitation, state taxes, interest during construction, loan repayment and the operation and maintenance of metro services.
The state was also bearing a significant share of the additional costs arising from project delays while continuing to support new metro lines and network expansion, he said.
“Strengthening Bengaluru’s public transport infrastructure through an integrated, sustainable and efficient metro network remains one of our key priorities,” Shivakumar said.
Reiterating the state’s role in the project, he said Karnataka’s contribution was not limited to construction but covered every stage, from land acquisition to day-to-day operations, loan repayment and financial support.
“We continue to shoulder the responsibility of building and successfully running Bengaluru’s Metro network,” he added.
Shivakumar’s cabinet colleague Krishna Byre Gowda, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, while presenting the funding figures for Metro Phases 1, 2, 2A, 2B and the estimated cost of Phase 3 at a press conference here, said the combined project outlay stood at Rs 77,891 crore. Of this, Karnataka is bearing Rs 65,291 crore, or approximately 84 per cent, while the Centre’s contribution is only Rs 12,600 crore, or around 16 per cent.
“The State is effectively investing nearly five rupees for every rupee contributed by the Centre,” he said, adding that the actual financial burden on Karnataka was far removed from the 50:50 funding arrangement often cited for Metro projects.
(PTI News)
