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Over
the past few years we have constantly addressed the many complicated
issues of the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (www.esgindia.org
or www.indiatogether.org/campaigns/bmic), proposed by M/s Nandi
Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Ltd. (www.nicelimited.com). We
have requested you to actively engage with various decision makers
urging them to abandon this preposterous proposal. For a project
that was initially mooted in 1994, there has been hardly any progress.
Though there have been a variety of institutional and project support
mechanisms developed in support by the Karnataka Government, still
the project did not secure enough momentum and till date no physical
development has been achieved.
The
Chief Minister of Karnataka expressed his serious doubts on whether
the project should be required at all. Reports of his statements
expressing support for the widening and rationalisation of the existing
highways between Bangalore and Mysore are attached/enclosed. The
Karnataka Government will finally decide the fate of the BMIC project
in a couple of days. It is extremely important that the Government's
decision is guided in support of securing the wider public interest,
and needless to state, this would involve rejecting the BMIC Project
of NICE.
As you are aware the BMIC Project involves the development of 5
new cities between Bangalore and Mysore in Karnataka State, and
the building of a 6 lane toll based expressway. This project will
directly affect over 180 villages in four districts and would potentially
displace close to 200,000 people and destruction of 21000 acres
of farm, forest and riverine areas. The cruel irony is that such
displacement of farming and landless agricultural labourers, is
proposed to accommodate the needs of the upwardly mobile urban middle
classes.
A
more appropriate model of urbanisation in this region is to strengthen
and rationalise the existing road links between Bangalore and Mysore
(SH-17 and NH-209) and to double and electrify the railway tracks.
The Chief Minister inaugurated the 4 laning of SH-17 two days ago,
when he expressed his indignation over the slow progress on BMIC.
This is an opportunity to urge the Karnataka Government to abandon
BMIC in light of other more appropriate choices of urbanisation,
that involve no displacement of farming communities or destruction
of forest lands, and yet energise progress of existing urban areas.
We have appealed to the CM to take such visionary steps, and our
appeal is enclosed.
We
strongly urge you to please write to the CM immediately, either
by email/fax or post. You may endorse our appeal, or adapt it to
suit your own appeal.
Kindly do mark a copy to us at esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in or our postal
address which is given below. Also do mark a copy to the other officials
mentioned below.
Thank you for your continuing cooperation and support.
Sincerely,
Leo
F. Saldanha/Rajmohan Pillai
Environment Support Group
S-3 Rajashree Apts.
18/57, 1st Main, SRK Gardens
Bannerghatta Road, Jayanagar
Bangalore 560041
Tel: 91-80-6341977/6534364
Telefax: 91-80-6341977
Email: esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in
Website: www.esgindia.org
Enclosure:
1)
Letter of Appeal to CM of Karnataka
Contact
Addresses:
1. Shri. S. M. Krishna, Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka,
Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore 560001. Email: cm@kar.nic.in Fax: 91-80-2353115.
Tel: 91-80-2253414
2. Shri T. R. Baalu, Union Cabinet Minister (Environment & Forests),
Government of India - (mef@envfor.delhi.nic.in, mef@menf.delhi.nic.in)
3. Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government
of India - (secy@menf.delhi.nic.in)
4. Addl. Director (Scientific), Ministry of Environment & Forests,
Southern Cell, Bangalore (romoefsz@kar.nic.in)
5. Principal Secretary, Dept. of Ecology, Environment and Forests,
Government of Karnataka (sececoenv@kar.nic.in)
6. Principal Secretary, Public Works Dept., Govt of Karnataka, plsecy@vsnl.net
or kpwd@secretariat2.kar.nic.in
7. Chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, M G Road,
Bangalore 560001 kspcb@rediffmail.com
8. Environment Support Group (esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in)
APPEAL
TO CM OF KARNATAKA
Shri.
S. M. Krishna
Chief Minister
Government of Karnataka
Vidhana Soudha
Bangalore 560001
17 December 2003
Reg.:
Appeal to Shelve BMIC Project permanently
Respected
Sir,
You
have rightly expressed your indignation on the negligible progress
on the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project (BMIC),
when inaugurating the 4-laning works by Karnataka Road Development
Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL) of the Maddur-Bangalore section of SH-17
(Bangalore Mysore Highway). You would save the State of Karnataka
enormous losses and an un-sustainable financial burden, while also
protecting farmers of the Bangalore Mysore region from gross injustice,
if you were to firmly state that the BMIC project would be abandoned.
Such
action would win you immense support from hundreds of thousands
of directly affected farming and other project affected families
who have been tormented for several years now by the BMIC proponents
and Land Acquisition officers to give up their land.
Farmers
amongst the worst affected:
Please
consider this assertion by a Tahsildhar to an affected farmer in
Guttigere village of Bangalore Rural District: “This
is our land. We have given the land to you to grow and eat from.
Other than that, there is no relation between you and the land.
The land is the Government's”.
This
farmer is a fifth generation landholder, is 65 years old, and has
children and grandchildren, all depending on his small farm. Completely
distressed by this kind of language, which you will agree is absolutely
illegal, untenable and deceiving, he feels constrained to give up
his land for paltry compensation, which he claims is a fifth of
the market rate. He will thus join thousands who will be abandoned
by “development” the BMIC project proposes.
BMIC:
A Flawed Model for urbanization
Over
the years, it has been repeatedly brought to your attention and
to that of many others in the decision making process, that the
BMIC Project is fundamentally flawed and has been so from the very
inception. Adopting the Columbia-Maryland model near Washington
DC, where expressway and urban development cross-subsidize each
other, this is a concept that has failed even in the USA, where
mobility over long distances and affordability are hardly an issue.
Further, this concept of urbanization has never been tried anywhere
else. It is thus very unfortunate that the State's precious administrative
and financial resources have been vested in promoting this unwise
BMIC project of M/s Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE).
NICE
capacity in doubt:
NICE
has never been able to demonstrate that it has the technical and
financial capability to deliver such a massive project involving
the development of 5 cities and a 6-lane expressway between Bangalore
and Mysore. Mr. Richard Hangen, President of M/s Vanasse Hangen
Brustlin Inc. of Boston, USA, one of the companies claimed to be
part of the consortium supporting BMIC, is on record that his company
has had nothing to do with this project since 1995. This fact has
been conveniently hidden by NICE from the State. It may also be
important to note that the Registrar of Companies has listed Nandi
Economic Corridor Enterprise Ltd., an associate of NICE in the BMIC
project, as a defaulter during May 2003. In addition, there are
many unsettled issues regarding the financing of the project, with
key financier ICICI possibly in violation of RBI directives in committing
support to this project.
Questionable
allotment of public lands to NICE:
21,000
acres of land is demanded for its implementation, over 7,000 acres
of which is Government held land. Per the Framework Agreement signed
in 1997, this land would be given to NICE at only Rs. 10/acre, ostensibly
on a long-term lease. Clearly this is not the kind of subsidy any
project should deserve, especially when land is a precious resource,
and involves total destruction of vast stretches of excellent forestland
and riverine areas. In addition there is the troubling issue of
the wide range of tax and cess exemptions extended to the project,
depriving the State of tens of crores of rupees in revenue. There
is also the issue that the governance of the proposed new towns
would be outside the purview of the Constitutional 74th Amendment
(Nagarpalika) Act.
Environmentally
disastrous and socially unjust:
This
is a disastrous project from the environmental and social impact
perspectives as well. There has never been a proper appraisal of
the environmental and social impacts of the project, with most reports
being fudged, grossly underestimating (or never estimating) the
adverse impacts on the environment. The project involves acquisition
of large swathes of forest in Badamanavarthi Kaval range abutting
the Bannerghatta National Park. The BMIC project would thus directly
obstruct a traditional elephant corridor, and could further induce
human-elephant conflicts that have been worsening in the recent
past. This is also one of the few remaining natural forests of the
Bangalore region, is found close to the city, and is a major ecological,
learning and recreational space.
The
in-principle environmental clearance granted to the expressway component
of BMIC by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, many conditions
were laid down. NICE has failed to comply with these conditions.
Extraction
of Cauvery Water:
Extraction
of water from Cauvery would increase tremendously to support the
lavish lifestyles that would be characteristic in all of the BMIC
townships. Per agreements reached, over 2 TMC feet of Cauvery's
water has already been allocated to this project. This is only an
initial allotment, and the project is definitely designed to extract
much more water in future. Besides burdening the farmers by limiting
their use of the river waters for agriculture, the project is likely
to further accentuate Karnataka's knotty issue with Tamilnadu over
sharing of waters.
Another
significant issue of concern is the adverse impact this project
would have on River Cauvery basin as construction of townships and
an expressway could physically alter the drainage pattern, especially
in the immediate vicinity of the river. This is particularly true
between Mahadevapura and Srirangapatna where the proposed BMIC expressway
and the golf tourism township would occupy vast stretches alongside
the river.
Lack
of transparency in BMIC project clearance:
There
has been little or no transparency in decision making on this project.
Public involvement has been obstructed actively, and marked by serious
human rights violations to suppress dissent. In Statutory Public
Hearings, State and Company representatives have actively engaged
in obstructing affected farmers from participating and targeted
groups and individuals who have raised concerns about the project.
With little regard to the rule of law, many were brutally removed
from such forums.
For
a Visionary and Appropriate Development of the Bangalore-Mysore
Corridor:
Sir,
now that you have embarked on a much-needed project to widen and
rationalise the existing SH-17 highway to four lanes, it would be
a prudent and popular decision if you firmly rejected the BMIC project.
Hundreds of old trees have already been felled in preparation for
the widening of SH-17 and land necessary has already been acquired
up to Maddur. Farmers from Maddur to Mysore, who seemingly oppose
this widening initiative, as they would lose highly irrigated lands,
should have no reason to oppose if convinced that no further lands
will be acquired, particularly for the immensely unpopular and disastrous
BMIC project.
The
4 laning of Bangalore-Mysore Road (SH-17) is expected to cost Rs.
330 crores and is open to all. The BMIC project, in comparison,
is projected to cost a minimum of Rs. 4000 crores; even this large
figure is considered to be a gross underestimate. Further, the expressway
is toll based and will not benefit farmers. The townships proposed
are gated and exclusive, providing no economic benefit whatsoever
to local communities.
The
SH-17 expansion requires a little over 100 acres, and will be complete
in 2 years. The expressway component alone of BMIC will consume
about 7000 acres and even the most conservative estimates project
its completion date to a decade, or more.
The
cruel irony is that thousands of farmers and landless labourers
will lose land, livelihood and household, so housing can be developed
for an upwardly mobile urban class.
Promoting
Railway Corridor Development and Intensive Development of existing
urban areas:
The
Southern Railways have proposed that the doubling and electrification
of the existing broad gauge railway line between Bangalore and Mysore
is clearly feasible. Such a development will tremendously boost
communication and transport, and be affordable to one and all. Even
with low project costs high returns can be expected by boosting
industrial and commercial development in the region.
It
has also been attractively proposed that high density housing, along
with requisite commercial, educational, cultural and health facilities
could easily be developed on large stretches of public lands available
in Railway Stations at Bidadi, Ramanagara, Channapatna, Maddur,
Mandya and Srirangapatna. Doubling and electrifying tracks allow
for faster travel speeds, making it possible to work in Bangalore
or Mysore, and yet enjoy living in any of these smaller urban areas.
Such development will not cause displacement of farming communities
or acquisition of forest and common lands. Instead it will aid these
old urban areas economically and make them culturally vibrant cosmopolitan
communities. Most importantly, it will aid in relieving Bangalore
of the high pressure of development that its weak infrastructure
is now unable to bear.
The
expansion of SH-17, the doubling of the Bangalore Mysore railway
line and the strengthening of NH-209 and its link to Mysore (Kanakapura
Road) could together remain a long term solution in supporting progressive
urban and infrastructure development to the benefit of all.
We
urge you to adopt a just and visionary approach, and thus reject
the BMIC project.
Yours
sincerely,
Environment
Support Group
Leo
F. Saldanha Rajmohan Pillai
Bhargavi S. Rao Mallesh K. R. Deepashree
Harminder Kaur
Sarita Deshmukh Dr. Subramanya Sastry Dr.
Ananth Chikkatur Padmashree Raghavan Nagini
Prasad
Cc.:
1.
Shri. S. M. Krishna, Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka, Vidhana
Soudha, Bangalore 560001. Email: cm@kar.nic.in Fax: 91-80-2353115.
Tel: 91-80-2253414
2. Shri T. R. Baalu, Union Cabinet Minister (Environment & Forests),
Government of India - (mef@envfor.delhi.nic.in, mef@menf.delhi.nic.in)
3. Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government
of India - (secy@menf.delhi.nic.in)
4. Addl. Director (Scientific), Ministry of Environment & Forests,
Southern Cell, Bangalore (romoefsz@kar.nic.in)
5. Principal Secretary, Dept. of Ecology, Environment and Forests,
Government of Karnataka (sececoenv@kar.nic.in)
6. Principal Secretary, Public Works Dept., Govt of Karnataka, plsecy@vsnl.net
or kpwd@secretariat2.kar.nic.in
7. Chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, M G Road,
Bangalore 560001 kspcb@rediffmail.com
8. Environment Support Group (esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in)
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