NICE in no-approval tangle

NICE in no-approval tangle
The Times of India

Bangalore: Once a mammoth infrastructure project is cleared by the government, does it still need basic project approval from the area planning authority? Yes, according to law and no, according to the executing company.

The project in question is the controversial Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) being executed by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) which seems to have entangled itself in yet another knotty situation — it lacks basic project approval plan from the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning Authority (BMICAPA) under whose jurisdiction the project is being executed.

The tiff is between the BMICAPA and NICE over the issue of project approval and commencement certificate. The Times of India is in possession of a series of letters written by the Authority to NICE on the issue including the resolution passed by the BMICAPA. And the latest is a letter to the legal department seeking its opinion on initiating action against the company.

According to town planning department officials, the statutory approval along with the commencement certificate for the project has to be obtained from the area planning authority as per section 17 of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, even if the project is okayed by the highest authority in the country.
According to the resolution passed by the BMICAPA on July 25, 2005, “NICE has so far not obtained sanction for its road development project and not paid the necessary fees. They have not procured commencement certificate from the authority which is mandatory. When asked, NICE representatives replied that the project does not require sanctions from the BMICAPA as per the Supreme Court orders. Hence the company has been asked to furnish the relevant copies of the SC order.’’

Subsequently, in its letter on Aug. 27, 2005, the authority has asked the company to submit SC order copies which exempt a private company from seeking approval from the authority before going ahead with the project, as claimed by NICE.

With the company failing to comply with the earlier order, the BMICAPA sent another reminder on June 19, 2006 seeking details of the court case. The authority has now written to the principal secretary legal department seeking clarification whether action can be initiated against the company as per section 17 of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act.

According to documents furnished by NICE, the company has been exempted from all charges and levies that would otherwise have been imposed by the state government. NICE managing director Ashok Kheny said: “In the existing state highway, several BDA roads also have not taken permission from BMICAPA for expansion or construction. Why should the law be different for me? I applied for approval, but the authorities said the land is not in your name and assured me that I could go ahead with the road without approvals as mine is an infrastructure project.’’