Kumaraswamy alleges illegal changes to NICE project plan
H.D. Kumaraswamy claims the 2004 outline development plan for the NICE corridor deviated from the 1997 framework agreement, affecting 15 lakes and expanding the road project's land.
Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has alleged that the outline development plan approved by the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor Project Authority (BMICPA) in February 2004 departed from the original framework agreement signed in 1997, calling the changes "illegal."
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, he said the BMICPA was headed at the time by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who also held the Urban Development portfolio.
According to Kumaraswamy, the 1997 framework agreement was cleared by the Cabinet, and any modification required fresh Cabinet approval — a position the government had conveyed to the promoter in 1999 when a change was sought. He added that both the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court had directed NICE to adhere to the framework agreement.
He said that while the agreement had allotted 20,193 acres to the BMICPA, including 6,999 acres for the road project, the modified outline development plan kept the total extent unchanged but raised the road project's share to 9,488 acres. The plan also shifted land towards three townships closer to Bengaluru by reducing the area earmarked for two others, he said.
Kumaraswamy further claimed that the original agreement did not affect any lake, whereas the modifications brought 15 lakes within their ambit. He questioned who had authorised the changes, whether they were placed before the Cabinet, whether the process was transparent, and whether the BMICPA had ever been audited.
Asked why the decisions were not revisited during his own tenure as Chief Minister in 2006-2007, he said the outline development plan could not be cancelled at the time because of pending court cases, including contempt proceedings, which have now been resolved. He noted that his government had cancelled a tripartite agreement signed in August 2002 between the state, NICE and Nandi Economic Corridor Enterprise, which had permitted the sale or mortgage of land and provided for arbitration in London in the event of a dispute.