BENGALURU: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday urged the State Government to immediately take over the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project by NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise) and stop all toll collection on the stretch. He also urged motorists not to pay the toll.
The JDS state president termed the NICE and proposed Bidadi Township projects as two faces of the same coin and said that both issues will be raised in the upcoming monsoon session of the legislature. “The State Government must wake up to the serious observations made by the high court on the NICE project.
The court pointed to serious irregularities in the implementation of the project and questioned the manner in which the toll is being collected. NICE must immediately stop collecting the toll,” he said. “If the government fails to act, people will have to take up the issue themselves,” he said. Giving the government a two-week deadline to stop toll collection, he said JDS will launch an agitation if nothing is done by then.
“The high court observed that ‘the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project appears to be one of the biggest scams in the state’ and stated that the matter is appropriate for an independent investigation by a team of experts into allegations of fraud and other offences, along with a forensic audit of the project accounts,” he said referring to the HC judgment of July 29. He questioned the State Government’s silence despite the court’s observations. “The government is expected to protect the interests of the people. Why is it quiet while a private company is allegedly exploiting the public?” he asked.
“Vested interests have benefited from land acquired in the name of the NICE project. Over 20,000 acres have been accumulated and kept as a land bank,” he said.
550 acres of extra land handed over to NICE: HDK
“Farmers have suffered and thousands of them are left without land and livelihoods. The company has also failed to follow the required norms in collecting the toll,” Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy alleged. He accused the company of violating the Framework Agreement.
He pointed out that a House committee headed by senior legislator TB Jayachandra had recommended that the State take over the NICE project. “It is nearly 20 years since farmers lost their land, but KIADB has still not paid compensation to several of them. NICE is allegedly transferring the land to others,” he said.
“Approximately 550 acres of additional land had been handed over to NICE, but the company continued to claim that the required land had not been given. The government told the court that NICE revised the toll several times without obtaining prior approval,” he alleged.
‘How did NICE issue NOC to Shobha Developers?’
Kumaraswamy also questioned the circumstances under which NICE issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) to Shobha Developers near the NICE Junction at Hosakerehalli in Bengaluru. “I want to ask the CM who the beneficiaries of this arrangement are. After farmers were displaced near the NICE Junction at Hosakerehalli, Shobha Developers wrote to NICE seeking an NOC to construct a building. NICE then issued it. Whose land is it? Does NICE have the right to issue an NOC for someone else’s property? On what basis was this land made available to Shobha Developers,” he asked.
Min Balakrishna slams HDK
Minister and Magadi MLA HC Balakrishna on Saturday hit back at Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, saying, “A person in a responsible position should not give such statements... If something goes wrong, triggering a law and order problem, who will be responsible? Kumaraswamy, being in such a responsible position, should stop giving such reckless statements,” he said. He blamed former PM HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy for initiating NICE and Bidadi Township projects. “Where did the NICE road come from? During whose time did it start? It started during Deve Gowda’s time. If Deve Gowda hadn’t done the NICE road, these discussions wouldn’t be happening,” he said.