Azim Premji declines CM Siddaramaiah’s request for ‘limited vehicular movement’ through Wipro campus

Bengaluru: Wipro founder chairman Azim Premji has declined Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s request to allow limited vehicular movement through the company’s campus in Bengaluru, saying that it is an exclusive private property owned by a listed company, not meant for public thoroughfare.

He also said that allowing public vehicular movement through Wipro’s Sarjapur campus will cause "significant legal, governance, and statutory challenges".

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had on September 19 written to Premji to explore "the possibility of allowing limited vehicular movement through the Wipro campus, subject to mutually agreed terms and necessary security considerations".

Preliminary assessments by traffic and urban mobility experts indicate that such a measure could reduce congestion on adjoining stretches of the ORR by nearly 30 per cent, particularly during peak office hours, Siddaramaiah wrote.

"Your support in this matter will go a long way in easing traffic bottlenecks, enhancing commuter experience, and contributing to a more efficient and livable Bengaluru. I would greatly appreciate it if your team could engage with our officials to work out a mutually acceptable plan at the earliest," the Chief Minister said.

In his reply sent on Wednesday, Premji said that he appreciated Siddaramaiah’s leadership for initiatives concerning the critical issue of traffic congestion in Bengaluru. He, however, maintained that there would be several challenges in allowing vehicular movement through their campus.

"With respect to the specific suggestion of allowing public vehicular movement through our Sarjapur campus, we apprehend significant legal, governance, and statutory challenges, since it is an exclusive private property owned by a listed company not intended for public thoroughfare," Premji said.

"That apart it will also be appreciated that our Sarjapur campus is a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) providing services to global customers, our contractual conditions mandate stringent, non-negotiable access control norms for governance and compliance," he added.

According to the Wipro chairman, public vehicular movement through private property would not be effective as a sustainable, long-term solution.

"Wipro nevertheless stands committed to partner with the Government of Karnataka to find a lasting solution for Bengaluru's mobility challenges," he said, adding that he believed a collaborative, data-driven approach would yield the most impactful results for the city.

He also noted that there was a need for urgent and effective measures for the traffic situation, particularly along the Outer Ring Road, for being an export-oriented economic hub.

"The problem's complexity, stemming from multiple factors, suggests that there is unlikely to be a single point solution or a silver bullet to resolve it," he noted.

The Wipro founder chairman said he believed the most effective path forward is to commission a comprehensive, scientific study led by an entity with world-class expertise in urban transport management.

He also noted that such an exercise would help to develop a holistic roadmap of effective solutions that are implementable in the short, medium, and long term.

"To demonstrate our commitment to being a part of the solution, Wipro will be pleased to engage in this process and underwrite a significant portion of the cost for this expert study," Premji noted.

The Outer Ring Road has been a nightmare for commuters due to severe traffic congestion and bad road conditions.

The issue came to the limelight when the BlackBuck CEO and co-founder Rajesh Yabaji said on 'X' that his company would move out of the ORR (Bellandur) as the average commute for his colleagues went up by one-and-a-half hours one way and the roads are full of potholes and dust, "coupled with lowest intent to get them rectified". He further said, "Didn’t see any of this changing in the next 5 years."