“Namma Bengaluru has the best talent and the best weather but the worst infrastructure - if we fix garbage debris and roads, we can be among the best cities in the world,” quipped Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon, in a post on X.
The post has brought back focus on Bengaluru’s breaking infrastructure and long-standing woes, only days prior to the Greater Bengaluru Authority taking charge of the city.
In the same post, Mazumdar-Shaw said Greater Bengaluru Authority, which came into effect on Tuesday, has the opportunity to work towards a larger goal.
Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai joined the Biocon chairman on X, urging Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to take action and stop the rhetoric.
The two corporate bigshots, putting pressure on Shivakumar and the Congress government, said they could be remembered for transforming Bengaluru from ‘gloom to glory.’
The calls to rejig Bengaluru’s infrastructure come at a time when the city was ranked sixth best global tech city, according to Colliers’ Global Tech Markets: Top Talent Locations 2025 report. It was also the only Indian city in the top 20.
While the city cemented its reputation as the tech capital of the country, it also faces issues ranging from pothole-filled roads, delayed infrastructure projects, to water shortage, water-logging and endless traffic.
According to the traffic police department, 4,500 potholes were identified, while the city was ranked second in India for the slowest moving traffic as per Tom Tom Traffic Report 2024-25.
The city is going through an infrastructural upgrade, but the process has faced multiple delays due to factors like acquisition obstacles as citizens have protested land acquisition. Multiple cases were heard in the High Court regarding tree felling, further delaying or stalling projects. The Covid-19 pandemic has also delayed projects.
India’s ‘Silicon City’ is bearing the brunt of unplanned expansion.
Delays in Namma Metro projects
Metro lines have faced delays of up to seven years. The recently opened Yellow line was commissioned in 2014, and was scheduled to open in 2021. However, it faced multiple delays due to land acquisition issues and bureaucratic inertia. The line was finally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month.
Further, metro coaches were to be delivered by a Chinese firm. However, the firm did not set up a manufacturing unit in India, leading to shortage of coaches even after its inauguration last month.
A three kilometer stretch on the Green line, which was scheduled to open in 2019, became operational only in 2024. The project faced issues like land acquisition, labour shortages, and construction disruptions. There were also complexities of securing necessary approvals and resolving logistical challenges. Further, the Covid-19 pandemic added to the delays,
The delays in the construction of the small stretch highlight a broader trend in Bengaluru’s metro projects. Completion dates and budget have often been pushed
The upcoming purple line, which was supposed to be open in December this year, has already been postponed to March 2026, while the underground phase of the same project has been pushed to September next year.
Overall, 40 km of the 75 km under the Phase II of Bengaluru Metro remains incomplete even after a decade of approval. The project, which received sanction in February 2014, is still underway. Costs have swollen from Rs 26,405 crore to over Rs 40,600 crore, according to a TOI report.
Road infrastructure and traffic chaos
While Bengaluru has the infrastructure to support tech parks, startups, and industries, basic amenities are seen lacking, as pointed out by Mazumdar-Shaw in her post.
Several road projects have been ongoing across the city for years. These infrastructure works were supposed to be completed before monsoons but did not see light. Bengaluru roads, which were scraped or white-topping at Rs 2,000 crore by the BBMP. Roads have also been dug up to lay sewage, drain pipes and laying electric cables.
There are now many areas in the city where huge ditches have remained open and roads stripped of their surface layers have remained closed for traffic movement for months, according to a TOI report.
According to the transport minister of Karnataka, Bengaluru requires 10,000 buses but has only 6,000, resulting in private vehicles flooding the streets.
This coupled with metro work has added to traffic congestion. Bengaluru was ranked second slowest city in India in 2024-25, only behind Kolkata, according to the Tom Tom Traffic Index. It was also the third slowest globally.
Water shortage and clogging issues
During the summer of 2024, Bengaluru faced acute water shortage in many parts of the city, including at the residence of the Chief Minister, according to news reports.
Later in the year, the city saw waterlogging due to excess rainfall and clogged drainages. Though the city did not face extreme water shortage this year, waterlogging problems continue.
The cause of both the problems are one. The city has become a concrete jungle. An IISc study blamed the 70 per cent drop in the water spread area in the city for the crisis.
Karnataka’s capital has seen a 1,055 per cent increase in built-up area, which includes concrete structure and paved surfaces, in the last few decades. The built-up area of the ‘concrete jungle’ in 1973 was around 8 per cent, which rose to 93.3 per cent in 2023.
The study says water spread area has fallen from 2,324 hectares in 1973 to only about 696 hectares in 2023, a 70 per cent drop.
Can Greater Bengaluru Authority give Bengaluru a much needed reset?
Starting Tuesday Bengaluru’s municipal corporation, BBMP, was replaced by five independent city corporations and will as the state government pushes to bring in a major shift in the city governance.
The new system will energise the civic administration and lead to better citizen service, according to Shivakumar.
The senior Congress leader, who also has Bengaluru development under him, said, “Bengaluru is entering a new era of governance from September 2 as the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) comes into force. Five new corporations with dedicated commissioners will bring administration closer to the people. With this decentralization, our city will witness faster development and smoother lives for the people.”
The five corporations will cover an area spread over 712 square kilometers serving an estimated population of about 85 lakh citizens.
Shivakumar claimed the GBA will bring exclusive corporations for Bengaluru North, South, East, West and Central, each headed by a commissioner.
“The purpose of dividing into five city corporations is to provide better services and to carry out development. They will cover 27 assembly constituencies and 197 wards. Bengaluru's development is our first priority,” Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said.
With a new dawn in governance, it remains to be seen if Bengaluru can overcome its problems and become one of the best cities like Mazumdar-Shaw envisions.
The post has brought back focus on Bengaluru’s breaking infrastructure and long-standing woes, only days prior to the Greater Bengaluru Authority taking charge of the city.
In the same post, Mazumdar-Shaw said Greater Bengaluru Authority, which came into effect on Tuesday, has the opportunity to work towards a larger goal.
Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai joined the Biocon chairman on X, urging Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to take action and stop the rhetoric.
The two corporate bigshots, putting pressure on Shivakumar and the Congress government, said they could be remembered for transforming Bengaluru from ‘gloom to glory.’
The calls to rejig Bengaluru’s infrastructure come at a time when the city was ranked sixth best global tech city, according to Colliers’ Global Tech Markets: Top Talent Locations 2025 report. It was also the only Indian city in the top 20.
While the city cemented its reputation as the tech capital of the country, it also faces issues ranging from pothole-filled roads, delayed infrastructure projects, to water shortage, water-logging and endless traffic.
According to the traffic police department, 4,500 potholes were identified, while the city was ranked second in India for the slowest moving traffic as per Tom Tom Traffic Report 2024-25.
The city is going through an infrastructural upgrade, but the process has faced multiple delays due to factors like acquisition obstacles as citizens have protested land acquisition. Multiple cases were heard in the High Court regarding tree felling, further delaying or stalling projects. The Covid-19 pandemic has also delayed projects.
India’s ‘Silicon City’ is bearing the brunt of unplanned expansion.
Delays in Namma Metro projects
Metro lines have faced delays of up to seven years. The recently opened Yellow line was commissioned in 2014, and was scheduled to open in 2021. However, it faced multiple delays due to land acquisition issues and bureaucratic inertia. The line was finally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month.
Further, metro coaches were to be delivered by a Chinese firm. However, the firm did not set up a manufacturing unit in India, leading to shortage of coaches even after its inauguration last month.
A three kilometer stretch on the Green line, which was scheduled to open in 2019, became operational only in 2024. The project faced issues like land acquisition, labour shortages, and construction disruptions. There were also complexities of securing necessary approvals and resolving logistical challenges. Further, the Covid-19 pandemic added to the delays,
The delays in the construction of the small stretch highlight a broader trend in Bengaluru’s metro projects. Completion dates and budget have often been pushed
The upcoming purple line, which was supposed to be open in December this year, has already been postponed to March 2026, while the underground phase of the same project has been pushed to September next year.
Overall, 40 km of the 75 km under the Phase II of Bengaluru Metro remains incomplete even after a decade of approval. The project, which received sanction in February 2014, is still underway. Costs have swollen from Rs 26,405 crore to over Rs 40,600 crore, according to a TOI report.
Road infrastructure and traffic chaos
While Bengaluru has the infrastructure to support tech parks, startups, and industries, basic amenities are seen lacking, as pointed out by Mazumdar-Shaw in her post.
Several road projects have been ongoing across the city for years. These infrastructure works were supposed to be completed before monsoons but did not see light. Bengaluru roads, which were scraped or white-topping at Rs 2,000 crore by the BBMP. Roads have also been dug up to lay sewage, drain pipes and laying electric cables.
There are now many areas in the city where huge ditches have remained open and roads stripped of their surface layers have remained closed for traffic movement for months, according to a TOI report.
According to the transport minister of Karnataka, Bengaluru requires 10,000 buses but has only 6,000, resulting in private vehicles flooding the streets.
This coupled with metro work has added to traffic congestion. Bengaluru was ranked second slowest city in India in 2024-25, only behind Kolkata, according to the Tom Tom Traffic Index. It was also the third slowest globally.
Water shortage and clogging issues
During the summer of 2024, Bengaluru faced acute water shortage in many parts of the city, including at the residence of the Chief Minister, according to news reports.
Later in the year, the city saw waterlogging due to excess rainfall and clogged drainages. Though the city did not face extreme water shortage this year, waterlogging problems continue.
The cause of both the problems are one. The city has become a concrete jungle. An IISc study blamed the 70 per cent drop in the water spread area in the city for the crisis.
Karnataka’s capital has seen a 1,055 per cent increase in built-up area, which includes concrete structure and paved surfaces, in the last few decades. The built-up area of the ‘concrete jungle’ in 1973 was around 8 per cent, which rose to 93.3 per cent in 2023.
The study says water spread area has fallen from 2,324 hectares in 1973 to only about 696 hectares in 2023, a 70 per cent drop.
Can Greater Bengaluru Authority give Bengaluru a much needed reset?
Starting Tuesday Bengaluru’s municipal corporation, BBMP, was replaced by five independent city corporations and will as the state government pushes to bring in a major shift in the city governance.
The new system will energise the civic administration and lead to better citizen service, according to Shivakumar.
The senior Congress leader, who also has Bengaluru development under him, said, “Bengaluru is entering a new era of governance from September 2 as the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) comes into force. Five new corporations with dedicated commissioners will bring administration closer to the people. With this decentralization, our city will witness faster development and smoother lives for the people.”
The five corporations will cover an area spread over 712 square kilometers serving an estimated population of about 85 lakh citizens.
Shivakumar claimed the GBA will bring exclusive corporations for Bengaluru North, South, East, West and Central, each headed by a commissioner.
“The purpose of dividing into five city corporations is to provide better services and to carry out development. They will cover 27 assembly constituencies and 197 wards. Bengaluru's development is our first priority,” Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said.
With a new dawn in governance, it remains to be seen if Bengaluru can overcome its problems and become one of the best cities like Mazumdar-Shaw envisions.
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