Reimagining the peripheral ring road of Bengaluru as an area development Project

Abstract

Bengaluru City’s Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), a project announced back in 2005 has faced several impediments to its implementation largely due to land acquisition hurdles and associated cost overruns. This paper addresses the state of the practice in the way the ring road has been imagined, why the project has remained unimplemented in over a decade and the possible alternatives by which it could be better planned and financed. Findings suggest that the crux of the problem could be attributed to a failure in recognising the full potential of a ring road to the city. Envisioned as a mere bypass to ‘decongest an already crowded Outer Ring Road (ORR), to prevent long distance private vehicles from entering the city centre’ its potential for area development, planned urban expansion and to serve as an ideal tool for land value capture were not recognised. Experiences of other cities which have been more successful in implementing similar projects through the use of alternative means of accessing land for public purposes provides clues to achieve that elusive middle ground between all stakeholders.