Kumaraswamy to tour NICE Road villages from October 2, vows to back affected families
H.D. Kumaraswamy will visit villages along the NICE Road from Madavara to Electronics City from October 2 and meet families affected by the project.
Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy announced on Sunday that he will tour villages along the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) Road and meet families affected by the project, starting October 2.
The announcement followed an interaction with farmers who lost land for the project. Mr. Kumaraswamy said he had received their representations and assured them of his support, stating he would fight against the project.
Speaking to the media afterwards, he said a court had observed that toll collection on the NICE Road was being carried out illegally, but the State government was offering explanations rather than resolving the matter. He added that both he and H.D. Deve Gowda had written to the Chief Minister about the toll collection and had not received a reply.
Mr. Kumaraswamy criticised the government for what he described as its protection of NICE Road promoter Ashok Kheny, despite strong observations by the High Court on the project, and questioned its continued backing.
He said his tour would cover all villages from Madavara to Electronics City along the NICE stretch, where he would speak with affected families. If the government's position remains unchanged after the visits, he said, he will decide his next course of protest.
The Union Minister also said he would make a detailed presentation on the project's history and on who made what modifications to the original framework agreement.