A new twist has emerged in the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) Project, with the Karnataka Government adding a new dimension to its long-standing battle with the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), the implementers of the project. In an additional affidavit filed in the Supreme Court last week, the Karnataka Government stated that a new consortium has filed a proposal to take over the Rs 2,250-crore project from NICE and implement it on an “as-is-where-is” basis, returning the land acquired for the project and providing more facilities like a monorail link. The Global Infrastructure Consortium, featuring companies from the US and India, has agreed to implement the project under the Swiss Challenge method, a new feature in Karnataka’s infrastructure policy, said the Government. The affidavit was filed in connection with a contempt petition moved by NICE against the state Government for stalling the project despite legal clearances. Reacting to the affidavit, the Managing Director of NICE said there was no consortium ready to take over the project as claimed by the state Government. Under the original 1997 framework agreement, NICE was to have built a 111-km expressway between Bangalore and Mysore and five townships on the route on a total of 20,193 acres of land. The official primary grouse of the JD(S)-BJP Government against NICE is that the company has illegally acquired nearly 2,000 acres of excess land for the project with the help of previous state Governments. The BMIC, the country’s first private expressway infrastructure project, has, till date, been cleared by both the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court. In April 20, 2006, the Supreme Court upheld a May 3, 2005 order of a division bench of the Karnataka High Court, directing the state Government to allow NICE to build the toll expressway as per the original agreement signed. The apex court called the Government’s arguments of fraudulence in the process of awarding the project “frivolous” and slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on it. In July 2006, the Kumaraswamy Government attempted to take over the project by introducing a Bill in the state legislature. This move was dropped following opposition from the BJP. In November 2006, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court rejected the state’s plea for a review of the court’s April 20, 2006, order. The state Government also instituted a commission of inquiry headed by a retired judge to look into all alleged illegalities in the project. Following the Supreme Court clearance for the project in April 2006, NICE has been working to complete the first phase of the project at the Bangalore end, comprising a 41-km peripheral road linking all highways to Bangalore from the BMIC expressway and a 9-km link road. However, there are still hurdles in the first phase in the form of litigations over the alignment of the peripheral road. NICE is also yet to be allotted parcels of land needed in this phase by the Government.
