BMIC: chequered path

BMIC: chequered path
The First Phase Of BMIC Project Will Be Ready On June 16. It Took 11 Years For The Project To Reach This Stage
The Times of India

February, 1995: MoU signed by chief minister H D Deve Gowda with governor William Weld of Massachusetts, USA, as part of sister state agreement; consortium involves VHB (USA), SAB engineering (USA) and Kalyani group (India). Includes seven townships

November, 1995: GO based on the MoU (PWD 32 CSR 95) authorising acquisition of 18,313 acres for the highway and five townships.

1996: NICE is formed as the project implementation company, leaving out VHB as a partner. Consortium hands over the project to this company.

April, 1997: Framework agreement signed with chief minister J H Patel. Land requirement identified as 20,193 acre in an unsigned annexure, citing need for additional land for peripheral, link roads and expressway.

1997: Major C R Ramesh, as PWD secretary files affidavit in the Karnataka High Court, upholding land requirement and need for the project in response to H T Somashekar Reddy’s PIL.

October, 1998: Agreement between KIADB and NICE, land identified as 23,846 acre.

July 2000: Public hearings on objections.

August 2002: Environmental clearance from Union ministry of environment and forest.

August 2002: Toll-franchise and land-lease agreements signed between NICE and Karnataka government.


June/November, 2003: KIADB sells 30 acre land to NICE, which in turn sells to IMTMA.

February/April, 2004: Deve Gowda appeals to governor T N Chaturvedi to intervene.

March, 2004: Start of project construction.

April, 2004: Governor advises chief secretary to take appropriate action on ‘excess’ land.

May, 2004: KIADB special DC notifies 29,258 acre.

November, 2004: K C Reddy committee constituted, after issue raised in legislature. December, 2004: Committee interim report submitted, stating 2,451 acre allocation is excess; cabinet accepts this.

March, 2005: Committee final report submitted, giving final land requirement figure as 17,809 acres. Cabinet upholds this also and chief secretary K K Misra files affidavit based on this.

May 2, 2005: Karnataka High Court says CS’s affidavit is false, orders expedition of the BMIC project and criminal prosecution of Misra. April 20, 2006: Supreme Court upholds high court judgement, imposes Rs 5 lakh fine on government, orders expedition of the project.

May 27, 2006: Rs 5 lakh fine paid by the state government, plans to go for a review petition. June 3, 2006: Government plans for a law to take- over the ‘excess’ land surface.

Red tape trap?

Hurdles even as NICE prepares to open the first stretch of the BMIC on June 16. Sources said: “The government is raising petty issues and trying to trap NICE through red tape. The PWD demanded permission notes for the peripheral road link to the Bangalore-Mysore state highway, which they themselves had issued!’’

Officials said the demand was “routine.’’ Sources said officials had been asked by the government to raise queries and stop road opening.