Kumaraswamy announces village tour over families affected by NICE project

Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has announced plans to visit villages along the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Road from October 2 and meet families affected by the project. Mr.

Kumaraswamy made the announcement on Sunday after interacting with farmers who had lost land for the NICE project. He received representations from the affected farmers and promised to fight on their behalf. Addressing the media, he said a court had observed that toll was being collected illegally, but alleged that the State government was offering explanations instead of addressing the issue.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said he and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda had written to the Chief Minister about toll collection but had not received a response.

He accused the government of protecting NICE Road promoter Ashok Kheny despite what he described as strong observations by the High Court about the project. The source material does not include a response from the government or Mr. Kheny.

The Union Minister said he would travel through all villages between Madavara and Electronics City along the NICE stretch and speak to affected families. If the government maintained its existing position after the tour, he said he would decide his next step in protesting the issue. He also said he would prepare a detailed presentation on the project’s history, including changes made to the initial framework agreement and the people responsible for those modifications.