Congress MLA T.B. Jayachandra says NICE Road is infructuous, suggests Karnataka government take over project

A voluminous 392-page report prepared and submitted to the State Government in December 2106 by a legislature panel headed by T.B. Jayachandra had indicted NICE for violation of the Framework Agreement (FWA), excess land acquisition, levying toll without laying a concrete road, and illegal mining, among other issues.

With the construction of Bengaluru-Mysure national highway (expressway), the Bangalore–Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP) — promoted by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) — has become infructuous, said former minister and Congress MLA T.B. Jayachandra. He suggested that the Karnataka Government take over the BMICP.

A voluminous 392-page report prepared and submitted to the State Government in December 2106 by a legislature panel headed Mr. Jayachandra had indicted NICE for violation of the Framework Agreement (FWA), excess land acquisition, levying toll without laying a concrete road, and illegal mining, among other issues.

Mr. Jayachandra, now Karnataka government’s Special Representative in Delhi, suggested to the government to implement the recommendations to provide justice to farmers who had lost their agriculture land for the NICE Road project.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on August 21, Mr. Jayachandra said, “The Siddaramaiah-led government has the responsibility of implementing the report and take over the project in the interest of the State exchequer, and the development of Bengaluru.”

Mr Jayachandra, who met agitating farmers at Bidadi during the budget session of the State legislature, said, “There is no necessity for another road project between Bengaluru and Mysuru, as the Centre and State have developed a eight-lane highway.”

Noting the options before the government are limited, the Congress leader said, “The matter should go back to the State Cabinet. Ultimately, the Cabinet has to make a decision.”

The House Committee, which studied the NICE project in 2016, had recommended a probe by national agencies, such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement of Directorate, and Central Vigilance Commission, or investigative agencies of equal standing, into the alleged widespread irregularities in execution of the multi-crore private infrastructure project.