Will the govt ever learn — to be an enabler, not obstructionist?

Will the govt ever learn — to be an enabler, not obstructionist?
H.S. Balram
The Times of India

It is common knowledge that bureaucratic red tape, official apathy and political intrigues are the bane of Bangalore’s infrastructure. But only when the courts intervene and take the government to task does the enormity of the situation come to light. The international airport project has been hanging fire for the last 10 years, caught in a maze of controversies, suspicions, hurdles and delays. The much-needed Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC), on the lines of the Mumbai-Pune expressway, has been facing one hurdle after another ever since its conception a decade ago. Two flyovers in the heart of Bangalore are lying unfinished for over a year, with no sign of early restart of work. So are many other development projects.

Take the BMIC project. It was conceived in 1995 when Deve Gowda was the CM, and a GO authorising acquisition of 18,313 acres for the expressway and five townships en route was issued. In 1996, the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) was entrusted with the job of executing the project. In 1997, when J.H. Patel was CM, the land requirement was raised to 20,193 acres. In 2002, when S.M. Krishna was CM and Dharam Singh PWD minister, the project was put on the fast track, environmental clearance given and land lease agreement signed.

In 2004, after the formation of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, Deve Gowda suddenly found the agreement to be a fraud and applied the brakes on the project. He accused NICE of having acquired more than the required land. His needle of suspicion obviously pointed towards bitter rival S.M. Krishna, who had ensured speedy implementation of the project. He forced CM Dharam Singh to order an inquiry. Guess who headed the probe panel? Technocrat K.C. Reddy, who ironically was a member of the committee which had approved the project and was associated with it till the signing of the land agreement.

Reddy vindicated Gowda’s apprehension by saying that 2,450 acres of land for the project was indeed in excess. The cabinet immediately endorsed the probe findings and asked chief secretary K.K. Misra to file an affidavit in the Karnataka High Court stating that the agreement signed during the Krishna regime was a result of ‘fraud and misrepresentation’ and deserved to be scrapped.

Little did Gowda or the government he remote-controls realise that the move would boomerang on them. The court took serious exception to the sudden change in the stand of the government. It observed that the chief secretary had knowingly withheld facts and made false statements. It said that the government plea was ‘estoppled’ by its own written statement to the court that it had signed an agreement with NICE for 20,193 acres of land. The court ordered criminal prosecution of the chief secretary, and asked the government to expedite the BMIC project. A slap on the face of the
government. If found guilty, the state’s top bureaucrat will face imprisonment up to three months. Surprisingly, instead of taking corrective measures, the government is now filing an appeal against the verdict in the apex court.

The judges’ observations are worth a read: We wonder why it became necessary for the state government to put up petitioners to sponsor its cause. Could it not itself have taken action in this matter and cancelled the contract and thrown Nandi out? Obviously, this course was not adopted because the government knew that there was no fraud or misrepresentation.

The court cannot allow its process to be abused by politicians and others to delay the implementation of a project which is in the larger public interest.

Since the project has been implemented by Nandi for more than seven years, we do not think that the state government can be permitted to change its stand and contend that the land allotted for the project is in excess of what is required.

Why do the state’s bureaucrats land in trouble every other day? Is it because they have reduced themselves to being ‘Yes men’? Isn’t their job to advise their political bosses against wrongs? Here is what the Supreme Court had said of them a few years ago: “We must caution the High Court of Karnataka that it should be very vigilant in accepting as correct a statement (made by bureaucrats) even though it may be made on oath on behalf of the state government’’. The High Court recalled this observation while delivering its verdict in the BMIC case. The state’s bureaucrats appear to have not learnt any lesson even after the apex court castigated them.

And what did NICE have to go through in all these years:
Interact with four chief ministers, eight chief secretaries and 341 IAS officers. Get 10,500 approvals from the Government. Face 336 writ petitions and five PILs.

The BMIC project is meant to enable smooth and faster flow of traffic between Bangalore and Mysore. Not only will it help ease congestion but allow Mysore to become an extension of Bangalore and prosper. Already, a number of IT companies have set up shop there. More are following suit. With Bangalore bursting at its seams, cities like Mysore, Mangalore and Hubli must step in. This is possible only if there is good connectivity and excellent infrastructure. The government should be an enabler, not an obstructionist.