Azim Premji Declines Karnataka CM’s Request For Road Access Through Wipro Campus
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had proposed using Wipro’s Sarjapur campus to ease vehicular congestion in Bengaluru, but Aziz Premji declined, citing legal and governance issues.
Wipro Founder and Chairman Azim Premji declined a proposal by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to permit public road access through Wipro’s Sarjapur campus. In a letter on Wednesday, he pointed out that the plan poses significant legal and governance challenges.
The letter by Premji urged the state to instead launch a comprehensive and data-driven study to arrive at sustainable mobility solutions.
In his response, Premji acknowledged the government’s concerns over congestion along Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road, especially near the Iblur junction, but cautioned against viewing the campus-access proposal as a “silver bullet”. In the letter, he described the city’s traffic woes as “complex” and unlikely to be resolved by a single intervention.
While Premji affirmed Wipro’s willingness to engage, he cited several fundamental constraints:
Statutory and governance constraints: The Sarjapur campus functions as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) serving global clients; therefore, it operates under strict, non-negotiable access control norms. Allowing public vehicular traffic through private property could violate regulations and weaken governance protocols, he said.
Legal risks: Integrating a public thoroughfare through a private campus raises questions around liability, right of way, security, and long-term sustainability, the Wipro founder added.
Need for a holistic approach: Premji suggested commissioning an “entity with world-class expertise in urban transport management” to conduct a multi-phase study encompassing short-, medium- and long-term interventions. He offered that Wipro would underwrite a sizable share of the study cost.
The chief minister had earlier, on Sept. 19, proposed exploring limited movement of vehicles across the campus under agreed security and safety terms. According to Siddaramaiah’s letter, preliminary assessments by urban mobility experts indicated that such a shortcut could reduce congestion by as much as 30% during peak hours on adjacent ORR stretches.
Premji, in his letter, expressed commitment to partner with the Karnataka government in finding workable solutions, but insisted those must be grounded in data, accountability, and regulatory feasibility. “A collaborative, data-driven approach will yield the most impactful results,” he wrote.
