The Forest Department on Thursday reclaimed five acres of forest land from public-sector Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) in Peenya plantation and marked it with a placard.

Karnataka Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre had directed officials to recover 599 acres of forest land in Peenya and Jalahalli, Bengaluru. The land was notified in 1896, but much of it was allegedly transferred by HMT to individuals, organisations and government bodies. Khandre also directed officials to withdraw an interlocutory application seeking permission to denotify the land on the grounds that it had lost its forest character.

HMT reportedly sold more than 165 acres of forest land in its possession to private and government agencies for ₹300 crore. A mega park modelled on Lalbagh has been proposed in Peenya plantation.

Heavy rain on Wednesday evening flooded major roads, flyovers and underpasses in Bengaluru, disrupting traffic. Waterlogging on Peenya flyover caused congestion. Storm-felled trees near Science City and Vidyashilpa School led to heavy traffic on the Kaggadasapura route. Hebbal Ring Road traffic slowed near Yogeshwar Nagar due to standing water.

Waterlogging affected Yelahanka’s Vidyashilpa railway underpass, Rashtrouthana flyover, Chowdappa Layout, Thanisandra Road, the stretch from Rainbow Hospital to Karthik Nagar, the Yelahanka BSF–Airport Road and the Mahadevapura–Lorry Junction stretch. Traffic police advised motorists to avoid flooded underpasses and routes blocked by fallen trees and use alternatives.

The Union Cabinet approved Phase 3 in August 2024 at an estimated cost of ₹15,611 crore. It comprises two elevated corridors: JP Nagar 4th Phase–Kempapura (32.15 km) along Outer Ring Road West, and Hosahalli–Kadabagere (12.50 km) along Magadi Road. The expansion will take Bengaluru’s active metro network to 220.20 km.

BMRCL expects construction to start in June 2026 and operations in May 2031. Around 1,100 trees are approved for relocation on the JP Nagar–Mysuru Road stretch; planning reduced the overall tree count from over 11,000 to about 6,700.

The project includes 10 multimodal hubs, bus bays, station parking, footbridge links to Lottegollahalli and Hebbal railway stations, and cycle-sharing. Projected daily ridership is 4.63 lakh on Corridor 1 and 1.75 lakh on Corridor 2.

BMRCL is reconsidering a proposed 37 km double-decker flyover, potentially scaling it down to 11 km at congestion points including Hebbal, BEL Circle, Goraguntepalya, Sumanahalli, Nagarbhavi, Nayandahalli, Kamakya Junction and Sarakki Junction.

Indicative property prices: Nagarbhavi–Sumanahalli, about ₹7,000/sq ft; Magadi Road–Kadabagere, ₹9,900–₹16,550/sq ft; Peenya–BEL–Hebbal, ₹8,000–₹18,400/sq ft; JP Nagar and southern Bengaluru apartments, ₹8,550–₹16,300/sq ft.

Peenya on NH-4 Bangalore-Tumkur highway employs over 1.5 lakh workers in engineering, electrical, textile and machine-tool units; connected by Namma Metro Green Line; average property price ₹8,712 per sq ft; 2 BHK rents ₹6,500–₹90,000 per month.

Bommasandra off Hosur Road hosts electronics, pharma and precision engineering; Namma Metro Yellow Line station; average property price ₹6,650 per sq ft; 2 BHK rents ₹8,000–₹37,000 per month.

Jigani south of Bommasandra hosts HCL, Toyota, OTIS in engineering and industrial sectors; no direct metro; average property price ₹5,450 per sq ft; 2 BHK rents ₹8,500–₹25,000 per month.

Whitefield IT and electronics hub anchored by International Tech Park Bangalore (ITPL); Purple Line metro; average property price ₹16,000 per sq ft; 2 BHK rents ₹5,000–₹54,000 per month.

Attibele on Hosur Road at Tamil Nadu border; metro extension planned; average property price ₹7,350 per sq ft; 2 BHK rents ₹5,000–₹60,000 per month.

Harohalli off Kanakapura Road, 900-hectare KIADB multi-product zone; NICE Road and metro extension under construction; average property price ₹3,500 per sq ft; 2 BHK rents ₹7,000–₹12,000 per month.

Kumbalagodu on Mysore Road manufacturing and logistics belt; average property price ₹8,582 per sq ft; 2 BHK rents ₹12,000–₹31,000 per month.

Doddaballapur textile and industrial cluster on Bangalore-Hyderabad highway; average property price ₹6,484 per sq ft; 2 BHK rents ₹8,000–₹60,000 per month.

Rajajinagar core city mixed manufacturing and urban redevelopment; metro access; average property price ₹21,234 per sq ft; 2 BHK rents ₹10,000–₹40,000 per month.

Bangalore government has withdrawn the 'Industrial Township' status granted to Peenya Industrial Area as a special investment region, reversing the decision made approximately one year earlier. The area has returned under Greater Bengaluru Governance Act.