137 crucial files missing, 20 lakes illegally handed over to NICE: report

December 3, 2016

Belagavi, Dec 3: The Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project was the first-ever Public-Private Partnership project in Karnataka but has been mired in controversy ever since it was conceived.

Hulimavu

The project envisages constructing 111 km of expressway between Bengaluru and Mysuru, a 41-km peripheral road, a 9.8-km link road (both around Bengaluru) and five townships under Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis.

An Assembly committee headed Law Minister T?B?Jayachandra constituted to probe irregularities in the implementation of the project has come out with several recommendation and observations. The panel has 11 members from both the ruling and the Opposition parties.

The report says that several government files pertaining to the BMIC project have gone missing and this has also led to irregularities in the implementation of the project.

As many as 137 files, which have to be preserved permanently going by the importance of the content, have gone missing. The files pertaining to the stamps and registration, the minutes of chief ministers' meetings, petitions filed in the Supreme Court, illegal mining, transfer of government land to the promoter among others have disappeared.

Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), promoters of the project, used 20 lakes extending over 213 acres for construction of the road.

Action should be initiated against those officials who illegally transferred the lakes to the company, the report says.

Thecommittee

An 11-member committee headed by T?B?Jayachandra was constituted in September 2014.

The panel held a total of 27 formal and 10 informal meetings.

The committee's terms of reference were to enquire into misappropriation in implementing agreements entered on April 3, 1997, for the project and violations of agreement conditions by the promoters and court orders.

Other observations

NICE violated framework agreement and constructed asphalt road instead of concrete road.

Objective of the project was to build an expressway between Bengaluru and Mysuru with five townships. However, even after 19 ye-ars, the project has not progressed beyond Bengaluru.

Promoters in the name of secrecy clause refused to furnish documents pertaining to the project to the government.

The project cost, investment details have not been provided to the government despite comfort letter for financial closure being issued to the promoters.

According to the agreement, stamp duty exemption had been given for 5,688 acres, but it was extended to 14,337 acres.

Illegal stone quarrying has been done at the project site and government has not been paid royalty of Rs 250 crore.

Former PWD?Secretary C?R?Ramesh, who represented the government during the initial stages of the project, is now one of the directors of NICE

NICE?has given Rs 274.99 crore as compensation to farmers, but 58% have rejected the same.

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May 4,2024

Mangaluru, May 4: The Mangaluru International Airport was besieged with a harrowing message of terror recently, when an email, purportedly from malevolent elements, menacingly declared the planting of bombs within the airport premises. 

Addressed to the office of the airport authority, the missive, steeped in ominous overtones, bore the ominous signature of a terrorist faction, ominously named 'Terrorizers 111'.

The communication, disseminated in English, ominously detailed the clandestine emplacement of explosives in areas eluding facile detection, accompanied by a chilling warning of their imminent detonation. The threat, ominously looming over not only the infrastructure but also the airborne vessels, portended a catastrophic deluge of bloodshed and loss.

In response to this dire communiqué, airport authorities swiftly engaged the apparatus of law enforcement, dispatching urgent alerts to the vigilant guardians of public safety. Acting upon the dictates of higher echelons, a formal dossier of this menacing correspondence was meticulously compiled, cloaked in the veil of confidentiality to thwart any premature dissemination.

Mangaluru International Airport found itself in grim camaraderie with more than 30 counterparts under the aegis of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and private domains, all recipients of this chilling electronic diatribe. A comprehensive net of precautionary measures was swiftly cast, fortifying the bastions of security in anticipation of any nefarious designs lurking within the shadows.

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April 30,2024

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Guwahati: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday condemned the alleged sexual abuse of women involving Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna, asserting that the BJP will not tolerate any insult to women.

Revanna (33) is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate for Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls on April 26.

Earlier in the day, the JD(S) suspended Revanna from the party with immediate effect.

“The issue regarding Revanna that has been reported in the media is very hurtful and cannot be tolerated in any way,” Shah told a press conference here.

“The BJP’s stand is very clear; we will not tolerate any insult to ‘matri aur nari shakti’ (women empowerment),” he asserted.

Some explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, were circulated in Hassan over the last few days.

The home minister said Congress has been alleging that an NDA partner’s candidate is involved in the incident, “but I just want to ask a small question - whose government is there in that state (Karnataka)?”

“The Congress is in power in Karnataka, and this matter must have come to their attention. Why has it not taken any action on it so far? We cannot take any action as law and order is a state issue,” Shah said.

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April 28,2024

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Bengaluru: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday said he would like to wait for the facts to come out of the investigation into an alleged sex scandal involving his nephew and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, but asserted that there is no question of forgiving anyone who has committed a crime as per law.

The former chief minister said he has nothing to do with Prajwal Revanna reportedly leaving the country, and it is the responsibility of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to get him back if required.

The 33-year-old Prajwal Revanna is the son of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda's elder son H D Revanna, who is an MLA and former minister.

Some explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna had started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days.

Prajwal Revanna is the BJP-JD(S) alliance's candidate from Hassan, which went to polls on Friday.

Kumaraswamy said, "I have noticed that the chief minister has ordered an SIT probe. Whether it is me or Deve Gowda (his father), we have always conducted ourselves respectfully towards women and have responded positively when anyone came with any sufferings. We have tried to address them."

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "The Hassan related issue that started during elections, let the facts come out through a probe. Whoever it is, who has committed the mistake as per the law of the land...there is no question of forgiving anyone who has committed the mistake. So let the facts come out from the probe, after that I will react."

To a question on Prajwal Revanna going to a foreign country, Kumaraswamy said, "It is not related to me. SIT probe has been ordered, officials have been put to work. If he has gone to a foreign country, getting him back is their responsibility. What should I say, if I'm asked. They (SIT) will get him, don't worry."

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the decision to constitute a SIT to probe the alleged sex scandal involving the MP.

Meanwhile, the police have information that Prajwal has left the country, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s office.

"Prajwal Revanna’s explicit video clips are being circulated in Hassan and it appears prime facie that women were sexually assaulted,' the statement said, adding that the government decided to form an SIT based on a petition by the chief of the Karnataka State Commission for Women.

The Commission's chairperson Dr Nagalakshmi Chaudhary on Thursday wrote to Siddaramaiah and state police chief Alok Mohan, seeking a probe into the videos that are in circulation in Hassan.

Prajwal has through his election agent lodged a complaint with the authorities that the videos are "doctored" and being circulated to tarnish his image ahead of elections.

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