The proposed 16.75 kilometre north?south tunnel road in Bengaluru envisages twin tunnel tubes linking the Hebbal and Silk Board junctions. The route is planned in two packages covering the Esteem Mall to Hebbal?Seshadri Road stretch and the Seshadri Road to St John’s Hospital, Madiwala stretch. The authority overseeing the project is Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd, which opened bids under a special purpose vehicle created by the state government.\n\nThe Adani Group emerged as the lowest bidder at Rs 222.67 billion (bn) against government estimates of Rs 176.98 bn for the combined work. For the first package the Adani Group bid Rs 108.67 bn against the government's estimate of Rs 87.7 bn, while the second package attracted a bid of Rs 114 bn against an estimate of Rs 89.28 bn. The first package bid was about 24 per cent higher and the second about 28 per cent higher than official estimates.\n\nThe project is structured under a build?operate?transfer model that envisages 40 per cent government funding with the remaining investment from private concessionaires. Bids were invited when D K Shivakumar served as deputy chief minister between May 2023 and May 2026, a period in which he argued the scheme would ease traffic in central areas. On the gap between bids and estimates he maintained that the state would limit its cash outgo by providing only its 40 per cent share while concessionaires would invest the remainder.\n\nThe passage of two related bills a day after a meeting between Gautam Adani and the responsible minister has intensified scrutiny of the procurement timeline. The chief minister's office described the encounter as a courtesy visit, while the home minister said the meeting concerned the Adani Group's role as a government contractor and was not inappropriate and that the group already operates projects in the state, including an ACC cement facility at Chittapur and the Mangalore Airport. The timing of the legislation and the meeting has fuelled questions about governance and procurement arrangements.