The Hindu : Karnataka News : More land for BMIC project: is it not violation of model code of conduct?

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Karnataka

More land for BMIC project: is it not violation of model code of conduct?

Krishnaprasad

Allotment notifications signed on March 21, gazetted on March 23

Market value of the 1,916 acres of land is over Rs. 600 crore
Government has not taken approval from the Election Commission

Photo: K. Murali Kumar

A view of the outer peripheral road connecting Mysore Road and Kanakapura Road, which is part of the BMIC project. —

Bangalore: Even while the model code of conduct is in force for the elections to the Lok Sabha, the State Government has, on a single day, quietly issued several notifications for acquiring land for the controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) Project.

The first of these is Notification NO-CI 654 SPQ 2008, issued on March 21, 2009, to acquire 1,916 acres of land for the establishment of two townships near Bidadi as part of the BMIC project.

Issued by the Commerce and Industries Department and gazetted on March 23, the notification will now enable the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Limited (NICE), the company implementing the project, to get absolute sale-deeds for the land. The market value of the 1,916 acres of land is over Rs. 600 crore, as the average value of the land per acre in that area ranges between Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 40 lakh an acre.

The notified lands are in Gonipura, Sheegehalli, Thippur, Doddakuntahalli and Kodiyala Karenahalli villages of Kengeri and Bidadi hoblis for which the State Government had issued preliminary acquisition notifications in 1998 and 2000.

The second notification (NO-CI 655 SPQ 2008), dated March 21, 2009, and gazetted on March 23, is for acquiring nearly three acres of additional land at U.M. Kaval and Anjanapura. This notification results in expansion of the area already notified for the project.

The third and final notification (NO-CI 509 SPQ 2008), also dated March 21 and gazetted on March 23, is for acquiring three acres of land in Talghattapura and one acre of land near Kengeri.

Lands at U.M. Kaval, Anjanapura, and Talghattapura, which are adjacent to the peripheral Ring Road, formed as part of the BMIC project, are being acquired despite the Government’s admission before the courts that the land already acquired and handed over to the company was in excess of the requirement to construct the peripheral road.

The question is: Does the issuance of these notifications constitute a violation of the election model code of conduct?

Official sources told The Hindu that even though the project was an ongoing one, the issuance of fresh notifications without prior sanction of the Election Commission of India (ECI) amounted to a clear violation of the code.

According to the code of conduct, “No land allotment shall be made by the Government to any entity, whether individual or enterprises; and the area of operation of any existing project/scheme/programme cannot be extended or expanded without prior permission from the ECI.” In the present instance, the Government has not taken approval from the ECI, a source added. The officials also pointed out that when the code made it clear that no work could be started even if the orders were issued prior to the code of conduct coming into force, how could the Government issue notifications for acquiring land for a township which would not only benefit the company which is implementing the project, but also new beneficiaries, as the company can now sell the land to anybody. Notifying of fresh land clearly amounts to “new action” taken by the Government to benefit a private firm, the sources added.

When governments are barred from continuing many ongoing welfare schemes because they will benefit new categories of beneficiaries, the issuance of notifications is questionable, pointed out a top officer who is part of the Chief Secretary-led Empowered Committee monitoring the BMIC project.

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