New Alignment does not have KSPCB's approval

New Alignment does not have KSPCB's approval



Imran KhanFirst Published : 07 Dec 2009 06:44:49 AM ISTLast Updated : 07 Dec 2009 07:54:50 AM IST
BANGALORE: The new Outer Development Project (ODP) alignment of the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project has not been approved by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), officials say. The BMIC project is being implemented by the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Ltd (NICE), a private company.
The member-secretary of the KSPCB, in a letter to the principal secretary, PWD Department, on November 19, has said that neither is the new ODP alignment approved nor has NICE brought the changes in alignment to the notice of the KSPCB.
The letter says the board had issued a ‘setting- up’ consent letter for the BMIC project on August 11, 2000, based on the alignment proposed in the original Frame Work Agreement (FWA).
The letter further says that the Urban Development Department on February 12, 2004 had approved a new ODP alignment for the BMIC project, which has till date not been approved by the KSPCB.
The Board has said that there is a need to check whether the go-ahead given to the project by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on August 8, 2001 is in line with the ODP alignment approved by the Urban Development Department on February 12, 2004. The KSPCB has also said the promoters of the NICE did not bring the changed ODP alignment to its notice.
A spokesperson for NICE told Express he would not comment on the KSPCB letter as the matter is ‘sub-judice’ before an appellate authority. On the ODP alignment of February 12, 2004, he said the Supreme Court has passed an interim order in this regard.
The spokesperson also said that the alignment order has been published in the state gazette and that there was no need to inform anybody about it.