Kumaraswamy urges Karnataka CM to take over NICE road project, halt toll collection

Kumaraswamy urges Karnataka CM to take over NICE road project, halt toll collection

Bengaluru, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy has urged Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to take over the NICE road project and immediately halt what he termed "unauthorised" toll collection.

Kumaraswamy urges Karnataka CM to take over NICE road project, halt toll collection

In a seven-page letter to Shivakumar, the JD leader cited recent observations of the Karnataka High Court on alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor Project and sought corrective action by the state government.

NICE is the concessionaire implementing the BMICP.

Shivakumar, however, said he had not yet gone through the letter and that the government would act in accordance with the law.

"We will go by what the law says. We will have to work in accordance with the law. I have been told that the letter has come, but I have not seen it yet. I will look into it," the union minister for Heavy Industries and Steel told reporters here.

According to the letter, Kumaraswamy's two principal demands are an immediate halt to toll collection by NICE and the takeover of the project by the state through appropriate legislation.

Kumaraswamy alleged that NICE had failed to comply with several provisions of the Framework Agreement and Project Technical Agreement.

He urged the state government to act in accordance with the directions and observations of the High Court and Supreme Court, as well as recommendations of legislative and Cabinet committees that have examined the project.

Referring to the High Court's July 29, 2026 judgment, Kumaraswamy said the Division Bench had made observations on the functioning of NICE, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board and the state government in implementing the BMICP.

He referred to Supreme Court judgments in State of Karnataka vs All India Manufacturers Organisation and M Naga Bhushan vs State of Karnataka , saying the proceedings had dealt with several issues relating to land acquisition and implementation of the project agreements.

Kumaraswamy said a Legislative House Committee headed by former minister T B Jayachandra had examined the project and submitted its report on December 12, 2016, making recommendations on alleged irregularities.

According to the Union minister, the Framework Agreement envisaged the transfer of 20,193 acres to NICE, including 6,999 acres for the toll road and 13,194 acres for five townships.

He alleged that NICE subsequently sought to reconfigure the land requirement by shifting 2,469.86 acres originally earmarked for the townships to the toll-road component.

This would take the land requirement for the road to 9,448.86 acres while keeping the overall requirement within 20,193 acres.

Kumaraswamy contended that the reconfiguration amounted to a departure from the terms of the FWA and PTA.

He raised the issue of rehabilitation of land losers, saying a proposal to construct a 42-acre, 32-gunta residential complex at Kommaghatta for families affected by land acquisition was rejected after the site was found to fall within the toll-road alignment and outside the approved investment scope.

As a result, several families who lost their land continued to remain without permanent residential sites, he claimed.

On toll collection, Kumaraswamy referred to the Toll Concession Agreement entered into by the state government and NICE on September 4, 2000. He said the government subsequently proposed toll-rate revisions in 2008, 2010 and 2011. However, citing the High Court's observations, he alleged that NICE later increased toll rates without corresponding notifications from the state government and called for an immediate halt to such collection.

Kumaraswamy raised the issue of an additional 554 acres allotted to NICE by KIADB. He said that despite recommendations by the High Court, the Legislative House Committee and the Cabinet Sub-Committee, steps had not been taken to recover the additional land.

He referred to the High Court's observations concerning the transfer of lakes, water bodies, streams and natural drainage systems to NICE, saying the court had expressed concern over their impact on Bengaluru and surrounding areas.

Kumaraswamy said the Division Bench had observed that the project remained stalled and called for a critical review of its implementation. He added that the continuation of the project itself should be reconsidered if it could not be effectively implemented.

The Cabinet Sub-Committee had recommended, among other measures, the recovery of additional land allotted to NICE, cessation of unauthorised toll collection, exclusion of land outside the FWA through appropriate notification, and recovery of acquired land allegedly being used for purposes other than those for which it was acquired, he said.

Kumaraswamy said more than two decades had passed since land acquisition for the project began, while several farmers and landowners were still awaiting compensation.

The prolonged delay had caused severe hardship to affected families, many of whom had been left without land, livelihood or adequate means of support, he said.

The Union minister urged the CM to take immediate action to bring the project into compliance with the applicable agreements, judicial directions and recommendations of the committees that had examined the matter.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.