BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the state government to consider discarding the Bangalore–Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, which has remained only on paper over the past 30 years.
“The project proponents are collecting huge tolls by constructing peripheral roads and toll plazas. They are sitting on a huge land bank, but without its proper use as the expressway has not yet been constructed, and there is no sign of it being constructed in future. Therefore, we direct the state government to re-look the project and take appropriate steps in this regard”, said a division bench of Justice D K Singh and Justice Venkatesh Naik T.
The court made these remarks while dismissing the petition filed by Chandrika, a resident of Benson Town in Bengaluru, seeking directions to NICE Ltd and the state to provide compensation, as the petition suppressed the fact that she obtained Rs 51.36 lakh compensation in 2007 by executing an indemnity bond for full and final settlement of compensation for acquisition of 3 acres and 23 guntas near Kengeri in Bengaluru.
The project and its planning, as delineated in the Project Technical Report (PTR), has remained only on paper, even after 30 years, for various reasons. It is informed that out of 111 km of BMIC, only 1 km has been constructed by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE). It has constructed 47 km of peripheral roads from which it collects toll tax to its profit. But the ambitious project of such a public interest to decongest the city and to develop a new satellite township has remained only on paper. Not even a single township has been developed in the last 25 years. The result is that, today, it is difficult to travel on the roads of Bengaluru, and mobility has come to a standstill, the court noted.
No purpose would be served by keeping the project alive when, in more than 25 years, only one kilometre has been constructed. It would be in the interest of the city, citizens, environment and the future, to re-look at the project and take appropriate action for a fresh and new project, discarding the old one, the court said.
“The population of the city is more than 1.4 crore. It takes hours to travel a small distance in the city. The infrastructure facilities are crumbling down. The environment is badly affected. The state government, therefore, must take necessary decisions for fresh planning by discarding the Framework Agreement at the earliest to ameliorate the living conditions of the city. We hope that an informed decision will be taken in this regard at the earliest,” the high court bench observed.