NICE seeks more land?

NICE seeks more land?
Vijay Times
: While the coalition partners are divided over the proposal to take over around 9,000 acres of ‘excess land’ allocated for Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) to implement the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project, the long-term Outer Development Plan for the project has more startling ambitions of deciding the land use pattern for another 53,860 acres.

According to the Outer Development Plan for Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning Authority (2021), after executing the present first stage of BMIC project utilising 29,140 acres of land, the BMICAPA would have the jurisdiction to decide the utilisation of another 53,860 hectares of agricultural land for expansion of five townships along the 111-km expressway.

A copy of the Outer Development Plan in possession of the VViijja ayy T Tiimmeess clearly states the proposed land use for five townships as follows.

In hectares Residential 6,291. 88 Commercial 2,875.37 Industrial 741.75 Public & semi public 552.43 Parks & Open spaces 1,847.46 Traffic & Transportation 3,931.63

Total 16,240.52 Agricultural land 53,860.44 Total extent 70,100.96

The plan also shows 53,860.44 hectares of agricultural land taking the grand total of land use to a whopping 70,100 hectares under the same Proposed Land Use clause with an explanation that "development of five townships to stem the growth of Bangalore and disperse the economic activity and the population in a wider region. The proposed land use analysis indicates that the area proposed to accommodate 10.50 lakh population in 16,240 hectares.

Which includes 8,175.2 hectares of project area and 8,065.32 hectares outside the project area, according to the document.

It may be recalled that alarmed at the powers vested with BMICAPA, the JDS-BJP coalition government had recently initiated the process of reconstituting it by dropping NICE Managing Director Ashok Kheny, who was a member.

It’s a forged plan: Kheny

Ashok Kheny, the managing director of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise has dismissed the existence of the Outer Development Plan 2021 for BMIC. Speaking to VViijja ay yTTiim mee s, he said it has to be some forged document and as there was no plan for the company to go for another 50,000 hectares of agricultural land from farmers to tag it with the BMIC project.

In fact, sometime back an official from the CMs office had called us up to enquire about such a master plan, he said.

Asked who would have forged the plan, Kheny said he suspected the hand of an IAS officer close to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowdas family.