Corporates in Real Estate (CiRE) will propose a pilot project to the Karnataka government for 24/7 management of a 30 km radius of the outer ring road (ORR) stretch between Hebbal and Silkboard in order to improve the lcity standards.
In July 2022, the city ranked 146th out of 173 in the Global Liveability Index 2022 released by the Economist Intelligence Unit, making it the least liveable city in India. Similarly, Bengaluru was assessed in the category of 4 million-plus population cities and finished among the bottom three cities of India in the 2018 MOHUA’s Ease of Living ranking.
The monthly estimated Capex for the project is capped at ₹5–6 crore and Opex at ₹2-3 crore, according to Jayaram Shivanasadra Govindaiah, President, CiRE. “We plan to secure the funding from the companies situated along the stretch.”
The project would require participation from around 300 companies, 300 people directly, and 3,000 people indirectly working on it. “As of now, we are having a conversation internally and have onboarded 300 leaders.”
In 2020, CiRE presented the project to the previous government and got approval on a principal basis. However, the project came to a standstill due to COVID. “We aim to present this proposal again to the new government and expect 3-6 months to complete the project once all the paperwork is done,” he explained. The expected timeline for getting approval is around three months.
Bengaluru witnessed an average annual gross office leasing volume of 13.9 million sft, with the ORR micro-market accounting for 45 per cent of total leasing volume. The infrastructure development across ORR has developed in a very planned way, making these locations high in terms of the liveability index.
Challenges
However, the primary challenge identified on the ORR Stretch between Hebbal and Silkboard is the lack of 24/7 management of the road. Moreover, the insufficient urban mobility infrastructure with the increasing population and relentless demands, exacerbated the traffic crisis
e “We intend to engage with the government and IT companies to ensure that the stretch is managed effectively. This includes deploying traffic wardens, maintaining greenery, and installing control rooms every 5 km, which would be 5–6 and will put 1200 CCTVs.”
Managing the stretch 24/7 will help ease traffic flow and provide an immediate response to any accidents that occur on the road. Govindaiah noted, “To this end, we also plan to work with IT industries to introduce air ambulance services between the stretch to ensure that anyone who is injured can be transported quickly and efficiently.”
The 60 km ORR is one of the most prestigious road networks in the city, winding its way through the prime localities of Hebbal, Banaswadi, Kengeri and Kengeri Satellite Town, KR Puram, Marathahalli, Mahadevapura, Sarjapur Road, HSR Layout, Madivala, BTM Layout, JP Nagar, Banashankari, and Nagarbhavi.