The Karnataka authorities Friday appointed 2001-batch IAS officer Dr J Ravishankar as the brand new managing director of the Bengaluru Metro Rail Company Restricted (BMRCL). He’ll change Maheshwar Rao, who was holding the submit on an extra cost.
Ravishankar at the moment serves because the secretary within the state Agriculture Division. His appointment to the highest submit in BMRCL comes forward of the launch of the long-pending Yellow Line metro community connecting RV Highway and Bommasandra.
A graduate in Dental Surgical procedure, Ravishankar has beforehand held a number of necessary roles within the state forms. These embody serving as secretary within the Housing Division, excise commissioner of Karnataka, and particular commissioner on the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). He has additionally labored because the commissioner of the Karnataka Housing Board and the deputy commissioner of Raichur district.
Different notable postings embody key roles in departments corresponding to City Improvement, Municipal Administration, City Housing, and Kannada and Tradition.
Outgoing BMRCL Managing Director Rao got here below in depth public criticism for considerably climbing metro fares in February. The utmost ticket worth was elevated from Rs 60 to Rs 90. Parliamentarians, together with Tejasvi Surya and P C Mohan, slammed Rao for not disclosing the fare fixation report that really useful the steep hike in metro fares. Surya and different BJP leaders additionally held a protest in opposition to BMRCL at Lalbagh in Bengaluru final week for failing to reveal the fare fixation report and for delaying the commissioning of the Yellow Line.
Following approval from the Centre, Rao was appointed because the full-time MD of BMRCL in January 2024. Nevertheless, the state authorities appointed him as BBMP chief commissioner in April 2025.
Rao had assured to open the Yellow Line connecting south Bengaluru to Digital Metropolis by August 15, with three trains and a headway of 20 minutes. The Yellow Line, regardless of 90 per cent civil work completion, faces delays attributable to rolling inventory shortages from Bengal-based Titagarh Rail Techniques.
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Bengaluru’s Namma Metro community at the moment spans 77 kilometres with 66 stations throughout two operational traces: the Purple Line (43.49 km, Whitefield to Challaghatta) and the Inexperienced Line (33.5 km, Nagasandra to Silk Institute).
Section 2 consists of the Yellow Line (19.15 km, RV Highway to Bommasandra), Pink Line (21.26 km, Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara), and Blue Line (58.19 km, Central Silk Board to Kempegowda Worldwide Airport through KR Puram).
Section 3, authorized in August 2024, consists of two elevated corridors totalling 44.65 km: Hall-1 (32.15 km, JP Nagar 4th Section to Kempapura) and Hall-2 (12.50 km, Hosahalli to Kadabagere).
The development for Section 3 has begun, with geotechnical surveys at Magadi Highway and land acquisition for 777 properties underway. This section, anticipated to be operational by 2029, will lengthen the community to 220.2 km with 31 new stations, enhancing connectivity to IT corridors and suburbs.
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In the meantime, the Karnataka Cupboard authorized Section 3A (Sarjapur to Hebbal, Pink Line) in December 2024. The Union City Improvement Division granted preliminary approval on October 16, 2024, and the mission now awaits the ultimate approval of the Union Cupboard.