Yet another rap! Isn’t it time you put your foot down, Mr CM?

Yet another rap! Isn’t it time you put your foot down, Mr CM?
H S BALRAM
The times of India

Three stinging slaps from the Supreme Court. Yet the Kumaraswamy government, egged on by former PM Deve Gowda, refuses to learn any lessons. The much-needed Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC), which envisages a 111-km expressway, a monorail and five integrated townships en route, has been given a clear goahead, for the third time, by the apex court. It has rejected all objections raised by the state from time to time, the latest being a plea to review its earlier order upholding the project. That the state, instead of allowing the project work to proceed smoothly at least now, is once again consulting legal experts to exercise the option of filing a curative petition to challenge the rejection of the review petition or revive plans for a legislation to take over the project, smacks of vindictive politics.
In its April 20, 2006 order, the apex court had chided the state for filing a frivolous litigation with mala fide intentions. The court observed that merely because there was a change in government, there was no need to review all decisions taken by the previous regime. Permitting the argument of excess land of 2450 acres (allegedly given to the builders) to be heard again, with the sole aim of scuttling a project of this magnitude, would encourage dishonest, politically motivated litigation, it had said. It also slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the state government as costs to the corridor builders and Rs 50,000 each on three persons, including two MLAs, who filed the petition.
That the state government, even after this stern order, chose to move the court again for a review, exposes its real intentions. The court rightly dismissed the petition with the contempt it deserved. The truth is that many powerful politicians and bureaucrats own large tracts of land in and around the corridor. They have been playing the farmer card and raising the bogey of excess land just to protect their own interests and cash in on the advantage of being close to the corridor. The ‘excess’ covers 743 acres of government land and 1,707 acres of private land, making it 2,450 acres of prime land in and around IT City Bangalore.
Guess what the government proposes to do after taking back the ‘excess’ land? No, it doesn’t intend to give it back to the farmers, from whose shoulders it is aiming the gun at Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Ltd (NICE)? It plans to auction the land and use the funds raised for various development projects. Don’t we smell a rat? The Kumaraswamy government even went to the extent of proposing a legislation to take over the project, but dropped the move when it found no support from coalition partner BJP.
Ironically, the project was conceived when Deve Gowda was the CM in 1995 and a GO authorising acquisition of 18,313 acres of land was issued. In 1996, NICE was entrusted with the job. In 1997, when J H Patel was the CM, the land requirement was raised to 20,193 acres. In 2002, during S M Krishna’s chief ministership, the project was put on the fast track, environmental clearance given and land lease agreement signed. In 2004, when the Congress-JD(S) government headed by Dharam Singh took over, Gowda, who was de facto CM, suddenly smelt a fraud in the agreement. Since then, he has been doing everything to tighten the noose around NICE. Dharam Singh danced to his tunes when was the CM. Now Kumaraswamy is continuing the dance. Gowda appears to be standing on prestige. He is unable to digest the humiliation of being rapped by the apex court again and again. Result: Crores of public money are being spent to fight the case.
It’s time Kumaraswamy advises his father not to make further moves against the project. He should put his foot down, ignore ill-meant advice, remove all the hurdles, release pending land and allow BMIC to be completed at the earliest. We need more such projects across the state. Only then will infrastructure improve. Bangalore is bursting at its seams. Tier II cities are crying for attention. Rural areas are demanding urban facilities. The government should not waste its time and energy on false prestige on meaningless fights. Otherwise, other states will overtake us soon. And we will lose the hard-earned reputation of being a progressive state.
PARTING SHOT
BBMP Must Deliver
Bruhat Bengalooru Mahanagara Palike! Get used to this now. For, Greater Bangalore is becoming a reality with the government issuing a notification. And this is how the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike will then be called, with seven CMCs and one TMC coming under it. The ‘cousins’ are excited about BBMP. At last, they will be treated on a par with BMP areas. Cynics differ. If BMP is unable to take care of the areas under it now, can it, in its new avatar as BBMP, take on the additional burden? The onus is on the government to prove them wrong. With the BMP Council’s term coming to an end, an able, hands-on administrator can make BBMP deliver. But he must be given a free hand, sufficient funds and efficient officials. Will you, Mr CM?