Namma Metro: a Study
2009
Namma Metro – A Study
Chinmay
Centre for Budget & Policy Studies
Namma Metro – A Study
Foreword
The Centre for Budget and Policy Studies has been examining government accounts to unravel the real priorities behind government policies. All governments make all kinds of promises. To keep a promise they must raise and spend money. This information is contained in budgets. What a government does, as opposed to what it says it is doing, can be gleaned from this source. But while a budget tells how money is raised [by taxes] and where it is spent, it does not tell us if the money is spent well or wisely. That requires detailed information on how projects and programmes are decided upon and audit to see how they are spent. These are complex issues of political economy. The cost of the Bangalore Metro has been stated to be 6000 crores of rupees, but it is likely to be much more. This money has come from taxes we pay to the union, the state and the city corporation. It also has a loan component from a foreign agency. And it addresses a major issue in the city. There is little doubt that Bangalore needs a mass transit system; it should have got one twenty years ago. Chinmay has documented the protest against the alignment of the Bangalore Metro in the Jayanagar area of Bangalore in mid 2009. He has attended many meetings, met many persons involved, and read the documents available. He has done a remarkable job of presenting an impartial record of what happened. This record merits careful study by all who wish to make an impact on the way large projects are designed and implemented in the country. The report, while detailed and informative, leaves many questions open. How was the Namma Metro designed? Why was the original plan, approved in 2004, confined to the boundaries of the Bangalore of 1981? The north point was Yeshwantpur, near the Indian Institute of Science, and the south point was near Rajalakshmi Nursing Home in Jayanager. By 2004, the city had
Namma Metro – A Study
Chinmay
Centre for Budget & Policy Studies
Namma Metro – A Study
Foreword
The Centre for Budget and Policy Studies has been examining government accounts to unravel the real priorities behind government policies. All governments make all kinds of promises. To keep a promise they must raise and spend money. This information is contained in budgets. What a government does, as opposed to what it says it is doing, can be gleaned from this source. But while a budget tells how money is raised [by taxes] and where it is spent, it does not tell us if the money is spent well or wisely. That requires detailed information on how projects and programmes are decided upon and audit to see how they are spent. These are complex issues of political economy. The cost of the Bangalore Metro has been stated to be 6000 crores of rupees, but it is likely to be much more. This money has come from taxes we pay to the union, the state and the city corporation. It also has a loan component from a foreign agency. And it addresses a major issue in the city. There is little doubt that Bangalore needs a mass transit system; it should have got one twenty years ago. Chinmay has documented the protest against the alignment of the Bangalore Metro in the Jayanagar area of Bangalore in mid 2009. He has attended many meetings, met many persons involved, and read the documents available. He has done a remarkable job of presenting an impartial record of what happened. This record merits careful study by all who wish to make an impact on the way large projects are designed and implemented in the country. The report, while detailed and informative, leaves many questions open. How was the Namma Metro designed? Why was the original plan, approved in 2004, confined to the boundaries of the Bangalore of 1981? The north point was Yeshwantpur, near the Indian Institute of Science, and the south point was near Rajalakshmi Nursing Home in Jayanager. By 2004, the city had