Gautam Adani meets DK Shivakumar amid delay over Bengaluru tunnel road project

Bengaluru: Adani Group founder Gautam Adani met Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday, his first reported meeting with the CM since Adani Enterprises emerged as the lowest bidder for the proposed 17-km Hebbal-Silk Board tunnel road in Bengaluru.

Shivakumar described the unscheduled meeting as a courtesy call, noting that the Ahmedabad-based infrastructure group has business interests in Karnataka. The CM received Adani and saw him off after the meeting.

The tunnel road, estimated by the state government at Rs 17,698 crore, is one of Shivakumar’s flagship infrastructure projects. The CM has argued that the underground corridor is necessary to ease congestion on one of Bengaluru’s busiest stretches.


Adani Enterprises emerged as the lowest bidder about eight months ago for the project, which Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE) plans to execute in two packages. Its bid, however, was reportedly about Rs 4,600 crore above the government’s estimated project cost, leaving the proposal to be vetted by the Cabinet.

Sources said Adani may have discussed the delay in moving the project forward, the group’s interest in the project and the potential cost escalation any further delay would entail.

The meeting comes amid opposition from citizen groups and the BJP, which have questioned the utility and financial viability of the tunnel. Critics have also raised concerns over the toll burden on motorists if the project is implemented.

The project has remained pending despite the state government’s earlier indications that it would place the proposal before the Cabinet for approval.

BJP leader R Ashoka criticised the meeting, saying Rahul Gandhi had previously targeted Adani but the Karnataka government was now “rolling out the red carpet” for him.

The Adani Group is also pursuing investments in other states governed by the Congress and other opposition parties. It had announced investments of more than Rs 12,400 crore in Telangana in 2024, in addition to Rs 10,000 crore already invested there. The group has also committed Rs 42,700 crore of investments in Tamil Nadu, while Kerala’s UDF government is seeking to develop the Adani-operated Vizhinjam port into a strategic logistics hub.

Shivakumar had earlier said the government would contribute only 40% of its estimated project cost towards the public-private partnership, with the successful bidder expected to fund the balance.

The proposed tunnel is intended to connect Hebbal in north Bengaluru with Silk Board in the south, creating an alternative corridor across some of the city’s most congested areas.