State government gives new twist to BMIC row

State government gives new twist to BMIC row
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The ongoing spat between the State government and the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) on Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) has taken a new turn with the government filing an additional affidavit before the Supreme Court, claiming that a US-based consortium has made a suo motu proposal to implement the project.

The affidavit, however, does not mention the name of the consortium that has come forward to take up the BMIC project.

‘‘The name has not been made public as they are yet to take part in the global tender,’’ sources in the government said.

In an affidavit filed by the government before the Supreme Court by senior counsel Sanjay Hegde on Saturday, the government stated that the consortium with a net worth of $250 billion has offered add-ons like construction of monorail between Electronics City and the Devanahalli International Airport at an estimated Rs 1,700 crore without any extra burden to the exchequer.

Besides they have also offered to return the excess land at the time of taking over the project.

‘‘The government could get at least Rs 30,000 crore from the lands returned by the new consortium,’’ said a release quoting the affidavit on Friday.

‘‘Unlike the petitioner company (NICE), the new consortium has proposed self-imposed penalties by undertaking to achieve financial closure within 18 months of signing the agreement and receiving relevant approvals and to pay a penalty of Rs 3 lakh a day for delay in starting the project,’’ the release said.

The consortium also offered to complete the project in seven years besides offering to pay Rs 5 lakh penalty a day if there was a delay in completion.

The government also alleged in the affidavit that NICE was ‘‘only interested in profiteering from the illegal sale of land in toll road instead of completing the project’’.

The affidavit further said that the government was within its right to invite private investment according to the new infrastructure policy to expedite pending projects under the Swiss Challenge Approach provision, where private investors are allowed make open bidding that could benefit the State.

It said the government was within its right to exercise its contractual rights and claimed NICE could not use writ jurisdiction or contempt jurisdiction to enforce questionable contractual rights.State government gives new twist to BMIC row
Sunday July 29 2007 11:36 IST

BANGALORE: The ongoing spat between the State government and the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) on Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) has taken a new turn with the government filing an additional affidavit before the Supreme Court, claiming that a US-based consortium has made a suo motu proposal to implement the project.

The affidavit, however, does not mention the name of the consortium that has come forward to take up the BMIC project.

‘‘The name has not been made public as they are yet to take part in the global tender,’’ sources in the government said.

In an affidavit filed by the government before the Supreme Court by senior counsel Sanjay Hegde on Saturday, the government stated that the consortium with a net worth of $250 billion has offered add-ons like construction of monorail between Electronics City and the Devanahalli International Airport at an estimated Rs 1,700 crore without any extra burden to the exchequer.

Besides they have also offered to return the excess land at the time of taking over the project.

‘‘The government could get at least Rs 30,000 crore from the lands returned by the new consortium,’’ said a release quoting the affidavit on Friday.

‘‘Unlike the petitioner company (NICE), the new consortium has proposed self-imposed penalties by undertaking to achieve financial closure within 18 months of signing the agreement and receiving relevant approvals and to pay a penalty of Rs 3 lakh a day for delay in starting the project,’’ the release said.

The consortium also offered to complete the project in seven years besides offering to pay Rs 5 lakh penalty a day if there was a delay in completion.

The government also alleged in the affidavit that NICE was ‘‘only interested in profiteering from the illegal sale of land in toll road instead of completing the project’’.

The affidavit further said that the government was within its right to invite private investment according to the new infrastructure policy to expedite pending projects under the Swiss Challenge Approach provision, where private investors are allowed make open bidding that could benefit the State.

It said the government was within its right to exercise its contractual rights and claimed NICE could not use writ jurisdiction or contempt jurisdiction to enforce questionable contractual rights.