'NICE demolished resort illegally'
JD(S) Chief D H Deve Gowda on Sunday alleged that the NICE, the promoter of BMIC project, has illegally demolished a resort and acquired two acres of land near Gottigere on the outskirts of Bangalore.
Addressing reporters, he said the State Government had not issued any notice to the owner of the resort before the demolition, but had given police protection to the NICE to carry out the operation.
Though the Government has submitted before the Supreme Court that it will not give 776 acre land under the Peripheral Road component as demanded by the NICE, it has now allowed the company to take over “excess” land for the project.
Resort owner H K Pattabhi, who was present at the press conference, said he is not against the BMIC project, but all buildings and other infrastructure at the resort were demolished without any notice. “Nearly 500 police personnel were present during the demolition. The operation was so swift that we were not allowed to take away our belongings,” he alleged. He said none of the structures at the resort was illegal. The notification to acquire the resort was questioned before the single judge bench of the High Court. Recently, the Court had declined to reject the notification.
“When we were preparing to approach the Division Bench on the verdict, the NICE demolished the buildings and acquired the land,” he alleged.
