The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Court gives green signal, State to acquire more NGEF land

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Court gives green signal, State to acquire more NGEF land

B.S. Ramesh

Move to enable setting up of an integrated transport hub

BANGALORE: The State Government is likely to acquire more New Government Electric Factory (NGEF) land on Old Madras Road than it had initially sought, to set up an integrated transport hub.

The hub would comprise Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC). It will come up on 53 acres of NGEF land.

However, with the High Court on Friday giving the green signal to the State that the Company Court’s permission is no longer needed to acquire the NGEF land, the State is mulling over the court’s oral suggestion to acquire more land.

Advocate-General B.V. Acharya, who has been arguing the NGEF case on behalf of the State Government, told The Hindu on Saturday that the State would seriously consider the suggestion of the High Court, that it acquire more NGEF land, keeping in view the growing expansion of the city.

Mr. Acharya said the High Court had dismissed a petition by the State seeking its permission to acquire 53 acres of land. The court felt that there is no need to file such an application and there is a provision in the Company Act itself that empowers the State to acquire land.

Since NGEF is under liquidation, the Company Court is seized of the matter and the State had felt that it would be better if the court cleared its move to acquire the land. The State, Mr. Acharya said, did not want to get into any legal hassles and felt that a stamp of approval from the Company Court would be better as the matter was under litigation.

Even as the Company Court was hearing the application by the State, it felt that there was no need for the court to give its seal of approval as both the Supreme Court and some provisions of the Company Act permitted the State to acquire the land.

When the matter came up on Friday, the State filed a memo seeking to withdraw its application urging the court to grant it 53 acres.

Even as he permitted the withdrawal of the application, Justice Rammohan Reddy, who is hearing the case, said the State is now free to go ahead with the acquisition proceedings.

He also orally suggested to the Advocate-General that the State could now acquire more land to ensure that it could come up with the project.

He reminded the Government that the city is growing and so is its transport needs. “If you so want, you can acquire more land,” he said.

Mr. Acharya told The Hindu that the Government would seriously consider the suggestion of acquiring more land.

With the High Court giving the green signal, the land would now be acquired expeditiously, he said.

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