Mr M B Nagakumar of BAI gives his take in a comment to the item - 'Blog that empowers people' - on Issues & Ideas page, at which the issue of Mr kheney's media presentation was initially raised. Mr Nagakumar cites Mr Kheny as saying that all he got till now in the pursuit of the Expressway project was BP and diabetes... Click on to Read On

While I am a pro-development chap, it is also worthwhile to see what happens to the environment due to large scale projects and how the effects can be mitigated to some extent, i do wonder about people whose lands have been "taken away" at less than market rates, leaving such people landless, homeless and what anyone did to mitigate their miseries.  No pain, no gain some people may say but I have a problem with that. Citizens expressing anguish on this matter must be taken seriously.

As for the Governments objection to the project, that is purely political and if enough money had been exchanged (wink wink), our "son of the soil" and his ilk would not have made anti noises! Their vested interest in anything is purely based on money. As if any politicians cared about the environment or the people who are displaced by large or small projects. This is where we should be anti government and appreciate the stand taken by the SC. The SC should have also one into the dealings of the company with regard to the effects on the environment and the people.

The BAI has done well to bring Mr. Kheny to speak to everyone. I also read how many people have found him to be a fighter and an honest person and so on. While I don't doubt that, it is also not fantastic to have a halo put on his head as there are questions that were either not asked or not replied to. I urge readers to also visit Mr. Bapu Satyanarayana's blog on mymysore.com and hope we can see both sides of the issue.

This is what I have to say. I have sent it to the press also. In fact I waited this long since I was anticipating some such action as nationalising the BMIC work by the politicians. However, do not be surprised if they retract from the original statement and say that they have been misquoted!

1. Let no one be fooled by the greedy politicians at the helm of affairs in this hapless state called Karnataka. Do not ever be under the illusion either that these people can stall the work altogether. They are incapable of it. Their only grouse is that they are not getting their share, albeit unjustified and illegal, of the pie that the BMIC is going to get sooner or later for their patience, perseverance and hard work. Not that the land allotted is in excess of the actual requirement. That was the job of the government at the time the documents were signed. If ever they succeed in not giving the "Excess Land", be sure that it will be fully "utilised" by these very politicians for their own "development". For that matter, even the BMIC would never have dreamt that the real estate prices would escalate to this extent within a decade! They will wait for their day. After all, "Every Dog Has His Day" is the wise old saying.

2. Coming back to our politicians, from successive governments, that is, they are visionaries in the reverse sense. They are suffering from a condition called "Malignant Myopia". Malignant means incurable and Myopia means shortsightedness. Combined together it means that they are suffering from a high degree of myopia, more than 12 diopters that cannot be cured by ordinary means at present. They can not see anything beyond themselves. Since they are not getting anything for themselves from the project nor are able to stop it altogether, they are here to try their might to delay the project as much as possible. In the bargain they forget that they are causing immense harm to the state and the people.

3. It is time that the Apex Court takes suo moto cognizance of this, castigate the government and issue necessary instructions as to ensure speedy construction of the highway that has been delayed unashamedly solely because of the greed of the politicians. I
Unquote.

Thanks, Anand, 05 Jun 2006




On 03/06/06, gvk

Good to read Shankars argument. I don't feel that many people are actually against the project. I think some of us are asking relevant questions about what is being done to mitigate any impact on the environment and what is being done to re-settle people who have lost their lands. It is just not the value of land that is in contention, you are taking away somebody's livelihood by force and at less than market rates.

I like development, hell I spent more than half my life watching how developments take place in developed countries and wondering why no one in India was doing the same. The need for faster and more convenient travel is more thana necessity these days and thats why you also need air connectivity for which I m making so much noise in various forums so far. I also agree with shankar on the need for containing environment damage due to the things he has mentioned.

Anyway, who can make a judgement on what is a viable alternative? In Singapore where I am right now, they have built all the roads ways possible, built a fabulous Mass rapid transit system underground, have a light rail system and even then there is congestion. We have none of the above (except congestion) and no one is even talking about inter city transport which is terrible in Bangalore and Mysore (Don't want to talk about the rest of India, not worth it).

In short, we need development and lots of it, we are just stuck with some stupid politicians and only one project that we are talking about. Where are the citizens of Mysore when we need a lot more connectivity? Why not make a stink about double track of the railways line as well, airport, inter city mass transport system etc? BUT, when we do these projects (actually if and when), it is best done when on one side the public interest is taken care of and on the other side, effects on the environment and people who may be displaced are also taken care of.

Good question from Mr. GVK. Does anyone else have any statistics to provide, that specifically mentions how much of the land the project was waste land as Mr. Kheny may have mentioned that much of it was indeed wasteland. In any case, some people think it is unfashionable to make dissenting comments about the project as it would better serve some other people to bulldoze their way through any project without caring what may happen to the individual or the environment that is affected.

Is the land acquisition part of Mr. Kheny's project in the public domain? Can Mr. Kheny himself provide details that can help throw light on how much waste land was involved? Would be nice to get some info from any credible source. As for connectivity, Mysore needs to look beyond just one project, double track, electrification, mass urban transit system, air connectivity are all just as important and I cannot say this often enough. If we are to be different from what happened to bangalore, Infrastucture must be more than just a slogan, it needs to be a "mantra", to be repeated so many times that the guys who we entursted to make it happen, must make it happen and that too, in our life time!

If the data on the website is credible, there are many problems. Maybe too late in our country to do anything about anything and the people who want to bulldoze their way through should be happy. It is not their land, livelihood or environment that is affected. Someone else's problem! Why do we care, lets only look after our own need for connectivity. Lets bulldoze the common man. Wah India!

Reading about SOM reports on the NICE project. The CM it seems has asked Mr. Kheny for an open debate. CM says Kheny tried to "buy" him! Should he take up the gauntlet? Seems farmers are digging up the roads. If thats true, it is the wrong way to protest. If it is not true and Kheny's men are doing it, wow! The halo built around his head by some of our blogger friends may soon disappear!

If it was me and if I had indeed been suppressed by the state government and I had done everything according to the books and never paid a bribe (all claimed by Kheny), I would indeed be delighted to have a public debate in front of the media, with the CM. Well, the gauntlet has been thrown. Lets see if Kheny picks it up or continues a war of the words through the media only.

The Hindu (June 17) carries a report on the opening of the first 9-km stretch of the Expressway. No one from the state government was at the inaugural fanfare. Instead, two elderly women who gave away their land for the project were invited to do the honours. Rammakka, 86, was reported as saying, "I gave away my land because the project is sure to benefit the common".

I smell a blatant PR job there. Subtlity doesn't appear to be our PR strength. The very presence of the two elderly women was PR statement, I thought, without anyone having to put words in their mouth.

Who else said what at the function:

Mr D K Shivakumar, ex-minister, : "Private-public partnerships are welcome as long as the Government has an upper hand. The ideal partnership would be in the ratio of 51:49,"

Mr N L Narendra Babu, MLA :"The stretch has been inaugurated without the presence of the head of the State. It is not a good omen." 

Mr T Mohandas Pai, Infosys :"The State should not intervene. The project should be completed by NICE. Just as the National Highway Authority of India executes projects through the private sector, the State should allow the private sector to handle such projects," 

The Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) : "The project is the only infrastructure project with a gestation period of 10 years. It has gone through seven Prime Ministers, four Chief Ministers (Karnataka), 15 Ministers for Public Works, eight Chief Secretaries, eight secretaries of the Department of Public Work, six secretaries of the Department of Urban Development, 10 secretaries of Department of Infrastructure and over 350 IAS officers. It has been discussed in over 100 Cabinet meetings and has been signed by 10,500 government officials, making it the most scrutinised project in the State." ....see The Hindu report.