Crucial Karnataka expressway project still held up

Crucial Karnataka expressway project still held up
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), the consortium executing the 111-km expressway linking Bangalore and Mysore, is hoping the Karnataka government would soon allot the land required to complete the ambitious project.

“The rejection of the state's review petition by the Supreme Court on Thursday gives us hope the state government would not delay anymore transferring the land to us for completing at least the expressway, which has been held up so far due to prolonged legal wrangles,” NICE managing director Ashok Kheny told IANS here on Friday.

Though the total land required for the entire Rs 30-billion Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, including five integrated townships, is about 20,000 acres in phases, the State government has till date transferred only 7,000 acres to the company. The expressway alone requires about 4,000 acres of land.

“As the mega project is of immense benefit to the local people, spawning socio-economic growth in the region, we intend to complete the expressway in the next 15 months provided the government hands over the land this month and gives us necessary clearances in time”.

“Since work on some portions of the expressway at both the ends were held up for want of land, we are writing to the state government to first allot the 4,000 acres required for the expressway. The remaining land for the townships and other allied services can be allotted later in phases,” Kheny said.

The July 3 review petition filed by the Kumaraswamy-led coalition government against the apex court's April 20 verdict upholding the company's stand on the project was dismissed by a three-judge bench on the ground that it was not “maintainable”.

In the April 20 ruling, the apex court not only directed the State government to implement the framework agreement it had entered into with NICE in letter and spirit, but also slapped cost of Rs 500,000 on the state as litigation charges in favour of the consortium.

“As we are interested in expediting the project for the benefit of the state, I appeal to all the political parties to sink their differences and support us in giving the people world class infrastructure,” Kheny said.

Refuting the state's contention that the consortium was already granted “excess land” (2,450 acres), Kheny said the question did not arise when the remaining land (13,000 acres, including 4,000 acres for the expressway) was yet to be transferred to it.

“The state's contention, which was rejected by the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court subsequently, was a bogey raised to protect the lands of influential people, including politicians and bureaucrats, who wanted us to change the road alignment so that their lands could be de-notified and sold for billions of rupees at the present market value,” Kheny pointed out.

Accusing the state government of intimidating and harassing the consortium over the project, Kheny said thousands of IT employees working in the electronics city were put to untold hardship as the local authorities had delayed handing over land stretching over 1.5 km on the Hosur-Bannarghatta-Kanakapura road to protect the prime properties of two top officials residing in the area.

“Just because of these two officials - a former state administrative officer and an IAS officer holding the post of principal secretary - we could not complete the work on the linking road till date, resulting in traffic chaos on the present Hosur-Bangalore highway,” Kheny charged.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the government would take an appropriate decision after consulting legal experts.

“We are to yet get the apex court's order. We will study its implications and decide accordingly. The review petition was filed to protect the interests of poor farmers whose lands were acquired by the earlier Congress government and handed over to NICE for developing commercial properties,” Kumaraswamy told reporters at Hassan, about 200 km from here.

Though the country's largest corridor project was awarded to NICE a decade ago, inordinate delays in land acquisition, red tape-ism and a five-year legal battle pushed the original cost by Rs 7.5 billion from Rs 22.5 billion, with steep rise in construction material, especially steel and cement.

The expressway will not only reduce the distance between Bangalore and Mysore by 40-50 km, but also travel time by 60-90 minutes from three-four hours currently.Crucial Karnataka expressway project still held up
Saturday November 4 2006 00:00 IST

IANS

BANGALORE: Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), the consortium executing the 111-km expressway linking Bangalore and Mysore, is hoping the Karnataka government would soon allot the land required to complete the ambitious project.

“The rejection of the state's review petition by the Supreme Court on Thursday gives us hope the state government would not delay anymore transferring the land to us for completing at least the expressway, which has been held up so far due to prolonged legal wrangles,” NICE managing director Ashok Kheny told IANS here on Friday.

Though the total land required for the entire Rs 30-billion Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, including five integrated townships, is about 20,000 acres in phases, the State government has till date transferred only 7,000 acres to the company. The expressway alone requires about 4,000 acres of land.

“As the mega project is of immense benefit to the local people, spawning socio-economic growth in the region, we intend to complete the expressway in the next 15 months provided the government hands over the land this month and gives us necessary clearances in time”.

“Since work on some portions of the expressway at both the ends were held up for want of land, we are writing to the state government to first allot the 4,000 acres required for the expressway. The remaining land for the townships and other allied services can be allotted later in phases,” Kheny said.

The July 3 review petition filed by the Kumaraswamy-led coalition government against the apex court's April 20 verdict upholding the company's stand on the project was dismissed by a three-judge bench on the ground that it was not “maintainable”.

In the April 20 ruling, the apex court not only directed the State government to implement the framework agreement it had entered into with NICE in letter and spirit, but also slapped cost of Rs 500,000 on the state as litigation charges in favour of the consortium.

“As we are interested in expediting the project for the benefit of the state, I appeal to all the political parties to sink their differences and support us in giving the people world class infrastructure,” Kheny said.

Refuting the state's contention that the consortium was already granted “excess land” (2,450 acres), Kheny said the question did not arise when the remaining land (13,000 acres, including 4,000 acres for the expressway) was yet to be transferred to it.

“The state's contention, which was rejected by the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court subsequently, was a bogey raised to protect the lands of influential people, including politicians and bureaucrats, who wanted us to change the road alignment so that their lands could be de-notified and sold for billions of rupees at the present market value,” Kheny pointed out.

Accusing the state government of intimidating and harassing the consortium over the project, Kheny said thousands of IT employees working in the electronics city were put to untold hardship as the local authorities had delayed handing over land stretching over 1.5 km on the Hosur-Bannarghatta-Kanakapura road to protect the prime properties of two top officials residing in the area.

“Just because of these two officials - a former state administrative officer and an IAS officer holding the post of principal secretary - we could not complete the work on the linking road till date, resulting in traffic chaos on the present Hosur-Bangalore highway,” Kheny charged.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the government would take an appropriate decision after consulting legal experts.

“We are to yet get the apex court's order. We will study its implications and decide accordingly. The review petition was filed to protect the interests of poor farmers whose lands were acquired by the earlier Congress government and handed over to NICE for developing commercial properties,” Kumaraswamy told reporters at Hassan, about 200 km from here.

Though the country's largest corridor project was awarded to NICE a decade ago, inordinate delays in land acquisition, red tape-ism and a five-year legal battle pushed the original cost by Rs 7.5 billion from Rs 22.5 billion, with steep rise in construction material, especially steel and cement.

The expressway will not only reduce the distance between Bangalore and Mysore by 40-50 km, but also travel time by 60-90 minutes from three-four hours currently.