The Lokayuka Court is expected to pronounce its orders in a private complaint filed against former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, the Number 1 accused, and 103 others, for alleged land grab in connection with Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project on Monday.
Ashok Kheny, promoter and managing director of NICE, former chief ministers S M Krishna, N Dharam Singh and B S Yeddyurappa as well as former ministers Siddaramaiah, D K Shivakumar, R V Deshpande, V S Koujalagi and Public Works Minister C M Udasi and several other prominent IAS officers have been named in the case.
One of the main contentions in a complaint filed by social activist T J Abraham on July 17 was that NICE floated the BMIC project, colluding with the then political leadership with the sole intention of grabbing the land in and around Bangalore.
Express had reported in July that ‘there can be another Bangalore City on NICE Project land’.
What Went Wrong
Earlier, on July 9, 1997, during the first empowered committee meeting, to avoid overlapping of land requirement by other agencies, a comprehensive planning authority to regulate the development activity of the expressway corridor, Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning Authority (BMICAPA) was formed.
Further, the Outline Development Plan (ODP) for 1,75,000 acres, instead of 20,193 acres was prepared by NICE and stamped by the government. According to the complainant, the project was also given stamp duty exemption without following any review method.