Ramalinga Reddy slams BJP for taking credit for metro project, says Karnataka’s contribution much higher

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Saturday hit out at BJP leaders, including State president B.Y. Vijayendra and MP for Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya, for claiming that the Yellow Line — set to be inaugurated on August 10 — was solely a Central government initiative.

Speaking at a press conference here, Mr. Reddy said the BJP was more interested in publicity than work and accused its leaders of ignoring the State’s major financial role. “They do not even know the history of the metro project in Karnataka. In 2006, when N. Dharam Singh was the Chief Minister, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone. The metro project is a people’s institution, not the property of any political party,” he said.

Funding pattern

Asserting that in this project, the State government is not a minor partner, Mr. Reddy released documents to show the funding pattern. “In every phase, Karnataka has contributed as much or more than the Centre, including land acquisition and cost escalations. In Phase 1, the State gave 30% plus land while the Centre’s contribution was 25%; in Phase 2, the Centre’s share was just 20%, and in Phase 3, Karnataka bore land and rehabilitation costs entirely,” he said.

Dismissing Mr. Surya’s claim that Congress governments built only 6 km of metro, the Transport Minister said: “In Phase 1 alone, we planned 42 km. The State has spent ₹24,064.3 crore against the Centre’s ₹17,803.85 crore, with ₹43,498.53 crore raised through loans guaranteed by the State”.

Delays by Centre

Countering an allegation that delays caused a loss of ₹400 crore per km, Mr. Reddy said: “Is the Centre not equally responsible? Who delayed the arrival of train coaches? Who issues environmental clearances? Is it not the Central government? All these approvals come after Union Cabinet clearance. Even the route safety certificate comes from the Centre. So the delays are due to them. For 11 years, the BJP has ruled at the Centre. They purposely delay because Congress is in power in the State and then blame us. Our Chief Minister has put pressure on the Union Ministers concerned for clearances.”

He also accused Karnataka’s BJP MPs of failing to raise the issue of the 15th Finance Commission’s allocation of ₹11,495 crore for the Peripheral Ring Road and lake development, which he said was denied to the State. “They will not speak up in Parliament for Karnataka’s share but will criticise the State government here,” he remarked.

On the issue of metro fare hikes, Mr. Reddy clarified that the decision rests with a committee appointed by the Centre, whose report is approved by the Delhi Metro Board, headed by a senior Union Urban Development Ministry official.