The State Cabinet’s decision to drop Law Minister J.C. Madhuswamy from a sub-committee formed in February 2020 to resolve legal disputes related to land acquisition for the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project has drawn the ire of activists fighting for farmers in the case.
Mr. Madhuswamy had reportedly taken a strong stand that all excess land notified for the project must be returned.
The Cabinet sub-committee is tasked with implementing the recent Supreme Court order that said the project should be implemented strictly according to the Framework Agreement (FWA). The agenda of the first meeting of the sub-committee included release of excess land from preliminary notification and revision of the outline development plan as per the FWA, sources said. The sub-committee is also looking into acquisition of 4.5 acres of land from Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. that has hit a roadblock as the ownership of the land parcel is disputed between NICE and the State government.
Sources said those “unhappy with the direction it was taking”, both in the government and outside, had been intensely lobbying for the sub-committee to be reconstituted by dropping certain Ministers. Mr. Madhuswamy being one of the early petitioners against NICE in the Supreme Court in 2004 made it inappropriate for him to be on the sub-committee, it was argued, sources said. A decision to this effect was taken at a recent Cabinet meeting.
The sub-committee formed in February had six Ministers. Chaired by Public Works Minister Govind Karjol, it had Revenue Minister R. Ashok, Mr. Madhuswamy, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan and Cooperation Minister S.T. Somashekhar as members. The notification on the reconstituted sub-committee, issued on December 4 (a copy of which is available with The Hindu), states that three Ministers — Mr. Madhuswamy, Dr. Ashwath Narayan and Mr. Bommai — have been dropped and Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar has been added as a member instead.
“It is understandable that other Ministers are dropped and the Industries Minister has been made a member since the issue pertains to KIADB, which acquired land for the BMIC project. But how can the Law Minister be dropped from a sub-committee looking into legal disputes, while the Cooperation Minister is retained?” asked a senior BJP leader who wished to remain anonymous. Mr. Madhuswamy, reportedly upset over the development, refused to comment on the issue.
“The way the Cabinet sub-committee has been reconstituted without the Law Minister, who has been legally fighting the alleged deviations in the project, is a troubling sign as to what might lie ahead,” said Vinay Sreenivasa, an advocate associated with farmers’ struggle against the project.
