NITI Aayog tells Karnataka to consider building ‘second Bengaluru’ to ease pressure on capital

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar met NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Home Minister Priyank Kharge and others were present. | Photo credit: special arrangement

The NITI Aayog has suggested that the Karnataka government consider building a “second Bengaluru” in the state to reduce pressure on the capital.

The suggestion came from NITI Aayog vice-chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri during a meeting with Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru on Wednesday. “I am proud of the development of Karnataka. To reduce the pressure on Bengaluru, there is a need to seriously consider building a second Bengaluru in Karnataka,” Mr Lahiri said.

The Chief Minister said that a proper plan will be prepared as per the expectations of NITI Aayog. According to him, the steps of other states in this regard will also be considered.

“Karnataka produces 1.6 million engineers and about 13,000 doctors every year. Bengaluru has 26 million IT professionals. The population of Bengaluru is constantly growing. The number of people settling in Bengaluru is also increasing. All these factors are increasing the pressure on Bengaluru,” the Chief Minister explained.

He said several ambitious projects are under implementation to improve Bengaluru’s infrastructure.

Mr. Shivakumar appealed to the NITI Aayog to give special attention to Karnataka. “The nation has huge expectations from Karnataka. It is leading the country in GDP, per capita income, human development index, technology and innovation, foreign direct investment, exports, start-ups and IT services. Karnataka has the best human resources in the country.”

Pointing out that after a long time Karnataka got an opportunity to hold a separate meeting with NITI Aayog, the Chief Minister sought its full support to the state.

The Chief Minister asked the NITI Aayog to ensure that Karnataka gets its due share of central funds, including the pending grants announced earlier in the central budget. In a federal system, states and the central government must work together in mutual cooperation, he noted.

“Recently, when I spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, I said that southern states have properly implemented population control measures, but they should not be penalized by reducing the allocation of funds based on population,” he recalled.

Published – 02 Sep 2026 20:54 IST