Bengaluru, Sep 7 (PTI) JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda on Monday questioned the Karnataka government’s decision to allot 1,453 sites to BMICP land losers, alleging that it could violate Supreme Court judgments and the government’s earlier stand on the issue.
In an open letter to Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, the former PM said the Cabinet had directed Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Limited on September 4 to allot the sites and alleged that the government was attempting to “subvert the rule of law” by claiming judicial sanction for the decision.
“The impunity with which your Cabinet believes it can subvert the rule of law by drawing the wool over the eyes of the public is breathtaking,” Gowda said.
He recalled that the state government had told the Supreme Court in 2016 that permitting the formation of sites at Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project interchanges was contrary to the Framework Agreement of April 3, 1997, and could amount to contempt of court orders.
Gowda said the Supreme Court subsequently upheld the government’s stand and categorically held that NICEL was bound by the FWA.
It held that the formation of sites at interchanges and on lands handed over for roads and road infrastructure had “no foundation in the FWA” and would undermine the project’s objective of reducing urban congestion.
He also pointed to the government’s stand before the High Court in March 2023, when it rejected NICEL’s request to allot sites to land losers on the ground that sites could not be formed on land acquired for roads and road infrastructure under the FWA.
“In January of this year, the High Court categorically held that compensation cannot be by way of sites formed at interchanges or on lands handed over for roads in contravention of the FWA,” Gowda said.
He questioned the proposed allotment of sites in Madavara, Kodigehalli, Kengeri, Komaghatta, Varahasandra, Sompura, Pillaganahalli, Kemathanahalli, UM Kaval, Chikkathoguru, Pantharapalya, K G Srikantapura and Gangondanahalli, claiming that the lands in these villages fall within the road and road-infrastructure component of the BMICP.
“When were the sites to be allotted formed? Who granted approval for the formation of these sites?” he asked.
Gowda referred to the Karnataka High Court’s July 2026 observations on NICEL’s financial records, including advances from the sale of land and Joint Development Agreements, and alleged that the project had become a source of illegal profits for its promoters.
The former prime minister said the court had described the conduct as “a fraud on the statute and Constitution” and observed that the project had not served the public good or public purpose but the private interests of its proponents.
Gowda further questioned whether the Cabinet’s latest decision had vindicated the court’s apprehension that a forensic audit of NICEL’s accounts may never be undertaken because the state itself was allegedly an accomplice in the activities of the project proponents.
“Has your Cabinet just proved that the Court’s doubt is indubitably fact? Has your Cabinet just approved the formation of sites in the teeth of Supreme Court judgments and the stand of the government you have been headed for over a decade now?” he asked.
“Are the real beneficiaries of the sites not the land losers but NICEL and its investors? Are the investors in your Cabinet, Mr CM? The state wants to know,” Gowda asked.
Rejecting the charge, Shivakumar said the government does everything within the framework of law.
When reporters asked the CM about Gowda’s allegation, he said, “Whatever we do, we will do it within the legal framework. We will seek legal opinion. We are examining everything and will continue to do so. We will not do anything outside the purview of law.” He said if people felt there had been a violation of rules, they could approach a court of law.
He insisted that he was aware of the rules and regulations and would not violate them.
“Those farmers who have lost their property have to be protected, don’t they? Previous governments have signed agreements and provided for all that. I have looked into those agreements,” Shivakumar said. PTI GMS SSK
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