BENGALURU: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy has alleged that the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) is a scam running into over Rs 3 lakh crore, the biggest in the country. It is bigger than the 2G and coal scams, he said, and demanded that Chief Minister DK Shivakumar take action against NICE Managing Director Ashok Kheny or resign.
Kumaraswamy alleged that the original project framework was altered to expand land requirement for the road and facilitate the interests of private parties. He said they are considering a legal fight and bringing awareness among farmers.
Presenting documents at a press conference in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy said the project was originally conceived as the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor and the first MoU was signed in 1995 during Deve Gowda’s tenure as CM. He stressed that the original arrangement was not with NICE but with other agencies.
The government had initially approved a framework under which the private developer was required to bear the cost of construction and land acquisition, and recover investment through toll collection and development of townships. In 1996, when JH Patel was CM, the cabinet approved the development of a toll road by acquiring 6,999 acres of land, and 13,194 acres for a township, and the Framework Agreement was signed. NICE was not involved.
Kumaraswamy alleged that in 2004, then Urban Development Minister DK Shivakumar changed the BMICP alignment without cabinet approval. He claimed that 9,468 acres were earmarked for the toll road and 10,724 acres for township development, deviating from the original plan for five townships. He said NICE later entered the project through an agreement with KIADB. “During Deve Gowda’s time, NICE was not involved,’’ he said.
Kumaraswamy alleged that the original cabinet-approved Framework Agreement was altered in the revised Outline Development Plan under Shivakumar, who was then heading BMICPA. The revised alignment included 12 lakes, temples and graveyards, and the project was used to facilitate the sale, mortgage and development of land originally acquired or notified for the infrastructure corridor, he alleged.
“When I was CM in 2007, the cabinet took a decision that the developer should not be entitled to sell or alienate land forming part of the road and interchange portions of the BMICP,’’ he said. However, several parcels of land were subsequently sold or developed through private companies and joint ventures, he added.
Reeferring to the 2002 tripartite agreement involving NICE, NHAI and Karnataka government, he alleged that provisions concerning the sale or alienation of project land were introduced through it. Kumaraswamy described the agreement as a major turning point in the project which was deliberately structured to create opportunities for private financial benefit, and termed it a “deliberate fraud”. He repeatedly linked Shivakumar with NICE promoter Ashok Kheny.
Kumaraswamy alleged that lands notified for BMICP were later purchased, converted and developed, including property linked to DK Shivakumar’s brother and former MP DK Suresh. Releasing land records, he claimed that about 10 acres acquired in names linked to Shivakumar’s family were government land at the time of purchase. He alleged manipulation of land records and encroachment of gomala land, and sought a drone survey to establish the extent of the properties.
He also questioned the need for further expansion of the project when a national highway between Bengaluru and Mysuru was already operational. “If you (Shivakumar) do not have the strength to correct what happened, resign and step down,” he demanded. He also warned he would expose more such scams and challenged Shivakumar to an open debate on the steps on Vidhana Soudha.
Kumaraswamy alleged that Shivakumar’s wealth increased from Rs 4 crore in 2004 to Rs 1,413 crore in 2023. “How did it grow so much in 20 years? Because of the BMIC project,” he further alleged.
Kumaraswamy released an audio clip, claiming that Ashok Kheny was talking about the state’s guarantee schemes and that the government could eventually be forced to part with assets such as Vidhana Soudha or Vikasa Soudha.