The High Court on Monday dismissed the petition filed by Bengaluru Residents’ Associations’ Confederation Ensemble (BRACE) and others questioning the PPP (public private partnership) agreement between Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) and Mantri Infrastructure Pvt Ltd for construction of Swastik Metro station in Malleswaram.
A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice S K Mukherjee and Justice Ravi Malimath dismissed the petition stating that according to the report submitted by the Infrastructure Development Corporation Karnataka Limited (iDeCK), a government body, it was a win-win situation for both the parties entering into the agreement and it was unjust to question the decision of the authorities.
The petitioner had contended that the PPP project would benefit Mantri group to the tune of crores of rupees, which otherwise would have accrued to the state exchequer. The petitioners contended that the agreement between BMRCL and Mantri was illegal and that the 2.5 acres of land acquired by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) could not be handed over to a third party. They also argued that the land acquired for Swastik station was transferred to the company in the name of a PPP project and that would benefit only Mantri, not the State government.
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