The format of the sale deed with regard to land acquired for the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, approved by the B.S. Yeddyurappa Government on August 29, violates the Supreme Court direction that the project should be implemented strictly in accordance with the original framework agreement, former Prime Minister and JD (S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has said.
Speaking to presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Gowda said that the Chief Minister who had earlier described the BMIC project as the “biggest golmal in history” and promised a debate on it on the floor of the House, had instead given an official seal of approval to a series of “irregularities and frauds” by approving the sale deed format.
Mr. Gowda said that his party would launch a massive agitation against the “fraud to the tune of Rs. 30,000 crore” after October 15.
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Analysing the import of the sale deed format, Mr. Gowda alleged that the spirit of the original framework agreement had been “deliberately twisted” in the sale deed by highlighting subsequent supplementary agreements which had allowed the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) to “carry out a daylight robbery.”
Mr. Gowda said that the sale deed format had left some crucial parts vague, to enable NICE to sell land in places where it had no right to sell as per the original agreement. This, he said, was contrary to the Government of Karnataka’s own affidavits submitted to the Supreme Court. The draft, he pointed out, did not specify the exact extent and location of land for the project, and only mentioned a total of 20,193 acres from Bangalore and Mysore, allowing for irregularities.
The company, he alleged, had been changing alignment every now and then, nine times in all so far, and the sale deed had deliberately missed an opportunity to rein in the company. Instead, it had allowed greater opportunity for the company to buy and sell land at will, he added.
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Mr. Gowda said that the BMIC project had turned out to be a “scandal” that surpassed the Harshad Mehta and Satyam Computers scams. He said that he was “cautioning the officers” not to overstep their mark and go too far in violating the court orders and throwing the interests of farmers to the wind.