Budget 2023-24: Rs 3,285 cr for Bengaluru Metro, state will contribute Rs 2,831 cr

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has been allocated Rs 3,285.49 crore in the state budget 2023-24. 

Of this, the state government will contribute Rs 2,831 crore while the remainder will be pooled through extrabudgetary resources. 

Under its share, the government will provide the BMRCL with Rs 65 crore as cash loss, Rs 300 crore as reimbursement of taxes and duties, Rs 210 crore as equity investment, Rs 1,756 crore as loans, and Rs 500 crore as support for debt repayment. 

Separately, the government will deduct Rs 2,420 crore from the BMRC Fund. 

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The BMRCL will spend the budgetary allocation on extending the Purple and Green lines, and on the under-construction Yellow and Pink lines. 

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promised that the Bengaluru Metro would be expanded from Baiyyappanahalli to KR Pura, Kengeri to Challaghatta, Nagasandra to Madavara and RV Road to Bommasandra in the current year. By the end of 2024, the metro would add 27 km, including the 19.14-km Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra). 

In the next three years, Bengaluru will have a 176-km metro network. The airport metro line will become operational in 2026, he added. 

This apart, the state has sent a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the central government for a Rs 16,328-crore Phase 3. The phase will have a 45-km network, linking Kempapura to JP Nagar 4th Phase and Hosahalli to Kadabagere, along the western part of the Outer Ring Road. 

There's another proposal to construct a new 37-km metro line from Hebbal to Sarjapur Road at an estimated cost of Rs 15,000 crore. The proposal will be sent to the union government for approval soon. 

The Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP) has been allocated Rs 1,000 crore in the budget, the same as that provided by the then chief minister Basavaraj Bommai in his February 2023 budget. 

"The allocation will be sufficient to meet the requirements of the works lined up in the near future," a K-RIDE official said. 

Of the four corridors, K-RIDE has started work on only one corridor and opened civil work bids for another. Tenders for the remaining two corridors are yet to be called. 

The state government said it would take steps to complete the construction of nine ongoing railway projects that would add 1,110 km to the railway network in Karnataka at a cost of Rs 8,766 crore. The state will contribute Rs 600 crore, including Rs 350 crore towards capital expenses and Rs 250 crore for land acquisition. 

Karnataka will also take action to complete the construction of railway overbridges and underpasses at a cost of Rs 803 crore.