Describing Karnataka as a state which seems to be in a “state of coma”, the Supreme Court today remarked the B S Yeddyurappa government has no business to be in power if it can’t acquire land fearing law and order problems.
The apex court made the scathing remarks while expressing surprise at the state government’s stance that it was proceeding slowly in acquiring private land for the multi-crore rupee Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP) “to avoid law and order problems”.
“Why are you not acquiring the land? Where is the question of law and order problem? Then don’t rule the state if you are afraid. You can’t survive if you are afraid,” a three-judge bench of justices V S Sirpurkar, R M Lodha and T S Thakur said. The apex court also expressed surprise after the state admitted that it did not acquire the land even for laying the basic road facilities.
“Why have you not acquired the land for the roads? It is for a public cause. You seem to be in a state of coma,” the bench told the state counsel. The bench made the remarks after the state’s Advocate General Harnahalli submitted the government was a little circumspect in acquiring additional land as farmers might create law and order problems and the administration has to be sensitive to such issues.
The Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP), which envisages creation of five satellite townships by a private developer at a cost of over Rs 2,500 crore, will reduce the travel time between the two cities to just 90 minutes. However, the project envisaged in 2004, is yet to see the light of the day owing to a plethora of cases in the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court challenging the land acquisition and rules allegedly violated to favour the company.
Though the apex court had in 2006 upheld the high court judgement dismissing the petitions filed against the projects, the two courts are again flooded with cases relating to land acquisition proceedings in "violation" of the original framework agreement between the government and the developer.
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Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), the company engaged in executing the project, has moved the Supreme Court by way of a contempt petition accusing the state of not taking interests in acquiring further land though the original framework agreement was signed in 2004. Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and several other farmers have accused NICE and Yeddyurappa government of being hand in glove in acquiring massive tracts of land in Bangalore city.
Counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for some of the aggrieved land owners, alleged the company was being given premium land in Bangalore city despite it being in violation of the original framework agreement.
Bhushan said that as per the agreement the land has to be alloted outside Bangalore, whereas the state, in collusion with the developer, was allotting several hundreds of acres of prime land within the city.
"You must sit across the table and get it done," the bench said when the state's counsel said there needs to be an "independent authority to monitor the project's implementation." The apex court said the first priority should be for implementation of the project but offered to examine the other issues relating to alleged illegal acquisition of additional land by the company in collusion with the state government.
The apex court had during the earlier hearings directed Karnataka to ensure expeditious implementation of the project and appointed a high-powered committee headed by the Chief Minister to oversee the execution. Besides creating huge infrastructural facilities, the corridor would reduce the road travel time between Bangalore and Mysore to 90 minutes as against four hours at present.
The apex court had said the project shall be implemented within the "framework of agreement" signed by the state government with the developer Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE).
The bench had also asked the Karnataka High Court to club the 80-odd cases challenging the acquisition of private land pending before different benches and present them before a division bench for disposal within four months. Under the original agreement in 2004, the company had been allotted 20,193 acres of land in the corridor region.