SC asks Karnataka to expedite infrastruture corridor project

The Supreme Court has asked the Karnataka government to complete the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project as early as possible and “should not do anything on releasing of any land acquired under this project”.

Release of land would impede the completion of the project and would not be compatible with the larger public interest the project has intended to serve, a bench of judges G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said on Wednesday.

The court had already cleared the project, dismissing objections raised by land owners and the All India Manufacturers Organisation. “As an integrated project, it may require acquisition and transfer of lands even away from the main alignment of the road,” the judgment of 2006 had said. Nandi Infrastructure is the main player in the project.

However, in a new challenge to the land acquisition, an owner fought up to the Supreme Court twice, attracting the ire of the court. This petitioner, M Nagabhushana, was imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh for abuse of the process of the court. His main purpose, the court said, was to “hold up, on one or other pretext, the land acquisition proceeding which was initiated to achieve a larger public purpose”.