In view of the Supreme Court direction, it is inevitable for the government to provide land for the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said here on Friday.
Yeddyurappa, who was on a visit to Mysore, said, “It is inevitable for us to prov-ide the required land to NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Ltd) because of the Supreme Court orders.”
On May 5, the apex court had taken the government to task for failing to acquire and release land for the BMIC project. Saying that the state seemed to be in a “state of coma”, the apex court had remarked that the Yeddyurappa government had no business to be in power if it cannot acquire land facing law and order problems.
Whipped by the stern remarks by the SC, the government seems to have awake-ned now to hasten acquisition of land for the project, languishing with little progress since 2004, when the agreement was signed for the project that speeds up road linkage between the state capital and the heritage city of Mysore, which is gaining prominence as a must tourist destination. The apex court had also directed that top priority be given for the project’s implementation.
Making it clear that the state government would not release more land for NICE, except that required for executing the project, Yeddyurappa said the land-losing farmers will be paid comp-ensation at market value of their lands.
“We will make available the required land after acquiring it from the farmers. They will be given the market price,” he asserted.
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The cabinet yesterday has decided to raise the compensation to a special rate of Rs 40-41 lakh per acre for 1,916 acres to be acquired in the three villages near Bangalore for the BMIC project.
To a question on acquisition of land by the Mysore Deputy Commissioner, Yeddyurappa said that the DC would take a decision on the extent of land required to be acquired. He would also decide upon the market price to be paid.
The chief minister refused to react to the remarks made by Governor H R Bharadwaj on state BJP president K S Eswarappa. The governor had reportedly remarked, “Eswarappa is no well-wisher of Yeddyurappa.”
Yeddyurappa reiterated the government’s decision to install Bhuvaneswari state in the Lal Bagh gardens in Bangalore for which he said Rs 25 crore was set apart. A research centre on the ideals of Basaveswara would be set up in Bangalore at a similar cost, he said, while participating in the Jayanthi celebrations of the 12th century saint and social reformer.