Wipro founder Azim Premji, responding to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s letter, declined his request to allow limited public vehicular movement through the company’s Bengaluru campus to ease traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
Premji highlighted the legal, governance, and statutory challenges involved, noting that “the Sarjapur campus is private property and part of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) providing services to global clients.”
He added that “contractual obligations mandate strict access control, and allowing public use of the campus would not offer a sustainable, long-term solution.”
The company, however, expressed its willingness to partner with the state government on a collaborative, data-driven approach to address Bengaluru’s traffic challenges and suggested commissioning a comprehensive study led by experts in urban transport management to develop implementable solutions.
In his letter, Premji thanked Siddaramaiah for recognising Wipro’s contributions to Karnataka and acknowledged the urgency of tackling traffic problems along the ORR, an area noted as an export-oriented economic hub. He noted that “the complexity of the problem, arising from multiple factors, means there is unlikely to be a single solution.”
Premji proposed commissioning a scientific study led by experts in urban transport management.
“Such an exercise would allow us 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,” he wrote.
Despite these constraints, Premji reaffirmed Wipro’s commitment to collaborate with the Karnataka government, emphasising that “a data-driven approach will yield the most impactful results for our city.”
Source: India Today