Residents accuse NICE of illegal demolition

Residents accuse NICE of illegal demolition
Deccan Herald

Angry residents held a rasta roko to protest against the alleged demolition of private properties by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) at Gottigere on Bannerghatta Main Road on Thursday.

Traffic was brought to a grinding halt on the road for over six hours, forcing commuters to take long detours to avoid the dharna site.

Members of Environment Support Group (ESG), Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS) and Anti-Land Acquisition Forum (ALAF) stopped the demolition work and shouted slogans against NICE and the police.

Their protest was on the grounds that NICE was deviating from the alignment cleared for the peripheral road segment of the project.

They also complained that the free flow of water into Gottigere tank will be obstructed by the new alignment.

“There has been excess acquisition and property owners have not even been served notice. This act is a blatant violation of the High Court Order dated December 22, 2005, in CCC 1623/2004, where NICE was instructed that it should follow the alignment approved in the CDP in 1995,” Vijay Raghav, an ALAF member said.

Mr Raghav, along with 12 others, lodged a complaint against NICE with the Bannerghatta police.

NICE clarifies

Meanwhile, a press release clarified that NICE has strictly adhered to the approved alignment. The release stated that “certain people with vested interests were misleading the public, in order to protect their illegal structures that have been constructed right in the middle of the alignment route.”

“They have constructed these structures despite several notices being served on them.

In fact, these persons have approached the Division Bench of Karnataka High Court several times, only to be struck down,” the release stated.