Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (JD)
Udupi, Aug 30: Social activist Bellipaddi Nemiraj Rai criticized the BJP, stating that it is foolish for the party to protest against the proposed Kanchinadka toll gate when they are largely responsible for its establishment.
Speaking on the facts and developments surrounding the proposed toll gate, Rai said, “In 2010, under the leadership of chief minister B S Yediyurappa, the Karnataka state government proposed the construction of 14 state highways covering a total distance of 360 kilometres. The project, estimated at Rs 2,150 crore, was submitted to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for funding. To repay the loan, the Yediyurappa government decided to implement toll booths on these state highways under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. At the time, C M Udasi was the public works minister.”
He continued, “On July 20, 2011, with security backing from the central government, the state government secured an Rs 2,150 crore loan from ADB. The Karkala-Padubidri state highway, spanning 27.80 kilometres and costing Rs 61.47 crore, was included in this project. On January 25, 2012, the then public works minister, C M Udasi, inaugurated the Karkala-Padubidri state highway near the Karkala bypass. Several prominent BJP leaders, including MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLA Lalaji Mendon (Kapu), district panchayat president Katapadi Shankar Poojary, taluk panchayat president Jayaram Salian, and KSHIP officer Heere Gowda, attended the inauguration.”
Rai noted that the construction contract for the 27.80-kilometer stretch, costing Rs 61.47 crore, was awarded to RNS Infrastructure Ltd, which commenced work on March 21, 2012. He highlighted the political instability in Karnataka during that period, with three chief ministers, B S Yediyurappa, D V Sadananda Gowda, and Jagadish Shettar, leading the state between 2011 and 2013.
“In 2013, the Congress government led by Siddaramaiah came to power. The construction of the Padubidri state highway was completed on May 20, 2015. In 2017, the state cabinet decided to implement toll collection on this highway, as initially proposed in 2010. Mysuru-based Mitra Infra Solutions was awarded the contract to construct the toll plaza on the Karkala-Padubidri state highway. However, when the toll plaza was being set up at Belman, public protests erupted on October 6, 2018, temporarily halting the project.”
Rai further added, “At the time, H D Kumaraswamy was the chief minister in the coalition government (2018-2019), with Sunil Kumar serving as the MLA for Karkala. Despite the BJP's control over the state government until May 2023, the toll construction proposal was never permanently cancelled. Now, with BJP leaders portraying themselves as opponents of the toll, it raises questions about whether this is merely an attempt to mislead the public.”