Tejasvi Surya seeks white paper on ₹5,500 crore spent on Bengaluru roads

Bengaluru: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has demanded a comprehensive white paper on the expenditure incurred by the Karnataka government on repairing potholes and roads in Bengaluru, questioning the outcome of the reported ₹5,500 crore spending over the past three years.

Speaking to reporters after a multi-party meeting convened by Bengaluru Urban Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda at Vidhana Soudha, Surya said the condition of the city’s roads had shown little improvement despite the huge expenditure.

Surya said the government was now preparing to spend another ₹8,000 crore on road and pothole-related works. However, he questioned the need for fresh expenditure without providing details of how the earlier ₹5,500 crore had been utilised.

“I have requested that a white paper be issued on the expenditure incurred on road repairs over the past three years,” Surya said, adding that the government should make the details of the spending available in the public domain.

The BJP MP also raised concerns over the functioning of Namma Metro, which is used by around 12 lakh passengers every day. He alleged that Bengaluru’s metro fares were among the highest when compared with major cities in the country, while the quality and reliability of services remained unsatisfactory.

Surya claimed that metro operations had been disrupted 21 times in the past year due to various technical issues. He criticised the service as being expensive despite repeated disruptions, describing the situation as a “Dakota Express service” in reference to what he termed poor reliability.

He also urged the government to expedite ongoing Metro projects, particularly the Orange and Red Line corridors.

According to Surya, completing the two corridors at the earliest would provide significant relief to lakhs of commuters and help improve Bengaluru’s public transport network.

The meeting brought together elected representatives to discuss the city’s infrastructure, transport and civic issues, with road conditions and Metro connectivity emerging as key concerns.