This has come in the backdrop of allegations that kickbacks from this project have been paid to Congress High Command and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's family.
The Karnataka government on Thursday has dismissed Bengaluru Steel flyover project, which has been muddled in controversy from the day it was conceived, reported the Times of India.
This came in the backdrop of allegations that kickbacks from this project have been paid to the Congress high command and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's family.
Development minister K J George said, ""We have cancelled the project as we have been forced to prove our sincerity. There are corruption charges being levelled against us when not a single rupee has been taken as kickback by us."
"We do not want to take the blame for something that we have not done, so we are dropping the project. The steel bridge project had become a pain point for us as the media has been speaking on a daily-basis about corruption in it," he added.
The 6.9 km flyover was meant to connect Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal with an extension on Sankey Road up to LRDE complex. The project report showed that the flyover was meant to start from near Maharani's college on Palace road till the expressway near Kempapura junction beyond Hebbal interchange. It drew a lot of criticism from citizens and environment activists as its establishment would lead to the axing of around 812 trees around.
Many Congress leaders including Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Dinesh Gundu Rao had pressurized the minister in charge to scrap the controversial project as it was putting the party in bad light.
"The proposed steel bridge is being portrayed as a monument of Congress corruption by the opposition parties. Why should we take the blame when our intention is to improve Bengaluru?" Dinesh Gundu Rao said.
Joining him, Shantinagar MLA NA Haris said, "We are tired of explaining to the people about the project. A decision should be taken on the project before more damage is caused to the party.
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