Bengaluru: Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwar yesterday revealed that the controversial NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises) Road project may have breached key legal provisions of the original framework agreement.

He strongly defended the State Government’s move to form a Cabinet Sub-Committee to investigate the matter.

Addressing a press conference, Dr. Parameshwar said, “The agreement was meant to ensure transparency, but there may have been efforts to violate it in the past. These need to be thoroughly examined.”

The State had allotted land to the project at concessional rates. However, several irregularities — including misuse of land, disputed toll collection agreements and incomplete construction — have now come under sharp scrutiny.

The NICE project, part of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC), conceived in the 1990s, aimed to establish a high-speed link between the two cities. The project was officially taken up in 2008.

The project was designed to create a 111-km high-speed corridor connecting Bengaluru and Mysuru. The plan also included five townships, a 41-km peripheral road and a 9.1-km link road.

Land acquisition

To make this possible, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) issued notifications to acquire an astonishing 26,488 acres of land, far exceeding the originally required 2,700 acres.

Of the proposed 64-km toll road around Bengaluru, only 49-km has been completed. Plans for the five townships have been stalled, leaving large tracts of acquired land lying unused due to ongoing litigation and public opposition.

The State had allotted land to NICE at concessional rates, but the project now faces serious allegations of land misuse, disputed toll agreements and incomplete construction.

Dr. Parameshwar pointed out that despite years of work, only 42-km of the peripheral road has been completed, while another stretch — planned to be 9-km — remains stuck at just 5-km.

“The company repeatedly violated the agreement while blaming the Government for delays in land handover. The Sub-Committee will now thoroughly investigate every aspect of the project,” Dr. Parameshwar asserted.

The Minister further revealed that the State is currently embroiled in over 300 Court cases related to the project, including 100 in the High Court and several pending before the Supreme Court.

As calls get louder to reclaim land, recover toll revenues and even scrap the project, the Cabinet Sub-Committee’s findings are expected to play a crucial role in reshaping one of Karnataka’s most contentious infrastructure projects.