With the construction of Bengaluru-Mysure national highway (expressway), the Bangalore–Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP) — promoted by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) — has become infructuous, said former minister and Congress MLA T.B. Jayachandra. He suggested that the Karnataka Government take over the BMICP.
A voluminous 392-page report prepared and submitted to the State Government in December 2016 by a legislature panel headed Mr. Jayachandra had indicted NICE for violation of the Framework Agreement (FWA), excess land acquisition, levying toll without laying a concrete road, and illegal mining, among other issues.
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Implement recommendations
Mr. Jayachandra, now Karnataka government’s Special Representative in Delhi, suggested to the government to implement the recommendations to provide justice to farmers who had lost their agriculture land for the NICE Road project.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on August 21, Mr. Jayachandra said, “The Siddaramaiah-led government has the responsibility of implementing the report and take over the project in the interest of the State exchequer, and the development of Bengaluru.”
Mr Jayachandra, who met agitating farmers at Bidadi during the budget session of the State legislature, said, “There is no necessity for another road project between Bengaluru and Mysuru, as the Centre and State have developed a eight-lane highway.”
Noting the options before the government are limited, the Congress leader said, “The matter should go back to the State Cabinet. Ultimately, the Cabinet has to make a decision.”
The House Committee, which studied the NICE project in 2016, had recommended a probe by national agencies, such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement of Directorate, and Central Vigilance Commission, or investigative agencies of equal standing, into the alleged widespread irregularities in execution of the multi-crore private infrastructure project.
What H.D. Kumaraswamy said
Mr. Jayachandra’s statement assumes significance in the wake of the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy announcing that he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to seek a probe by the CBI into the alleged scam.
The House panel had, among other things, recommended withdrawal of 11,060 acres of both private (7,532 acres) and government land (3,528 acres) earmarked for the project, stoppage in toll collection on NICE Road, and recovery of royalty of ₹242.45 crore for alleged illegal mining activities on 242 acres acquired for BMICP.
The committee said the promoters of NICE benefited from excessive exemption of stamp duty and registration fee, transaction not authorized under FWA (₹4,956 crore), excessive levy of toll based in bitumen/white topping road instead of concrete roads (₹1,350 crore), grant of government land on lease instead of transfer by sale, non-payment of compensation to persons who lost their land, reduction in service charge levied by KIADB. “These are a few instances where benefits beyond what is discussed in FWA have been extended to the private partner,” the panel noted.
It recommended constitution of a three-member committee comprising experts from technical, legal and administration fields for ensuring effective implementation of the project.
