BMIC project from Mysore fails to take off again

BMIC project from Mysore fails to take off again
Business Standard

Tuesday must have been a day of mixed emotions for Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) managing director Ashok Kheny.

He must have been happy celebrating the birthday of his children who are in the US. But, in Mysore his hopes of launching the work on the Rs 18,000-crore Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project from the Mysore-end, as announced by him last Friday, remained unfulfilled.

Having failed to break the ground on July 7, Kheny had announced that he would begin work on the project on July 11, and had hoped that the 15-acres of land required will be handed over to him by Tuesday.

However, the land continues to remain with the MUDA. The KIADB has not remitted the land value of Rs 85 lakh to the MUDA for it to transfer the land to NICE in turn.

It was on this ground that the MUDA officials had stopped the July 7 programme from being held near the Ring Road “to prevent anyone from trespassing” into its property. A prohibitory order clamped there had prevented Kheny from entering the spot and performing the ground breaking ceremony the last time.

“I am not a politician to break the law,” Kheny had remarked.

A spokesman of the BMIC told Business Standard that they had written a letter to the chief minister requesting him to speed up the land transfer for commencing the work from the Mysore-end too.

“We expect a reply to this letter written in a day or two. Kheny is in the US. He will be back by then,” he said.

While explaining his stand, Kheny had told reporters in Mysore that NICE had paid Rs 100 crore to the KIADB. It had also submitted a copy of the plans and the required documents. KIADB secretary D N Naik had the demand draft ready and he expected to reach MUDA the same day. And therefore had rescheduled the launch to July 11.

With no solution in sight to the impasse, the project failed to take off for the second time in a week.

Meanwhile, members of the Janata Dal (S) Raitha Sanghatane held a demonstration before the deputy commissioner’s office on Tuesday opposing the BMIC project.