Bengaluru-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor: Supreme Court stays Karnataka HC's suggestions for scrapping the project

The Karnataka High Court has said, no purpose would be served for keeping the project alive when, in more than 25 years, only one kilometer has been constructed.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the Karnataka High Court's January 9, 2026 judgment which has suggested the scrapping of Bengaluru-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project, mooted for decongesting the city of Bengaluru.

The HC has said, no purpose would be served for keeping the project alive when, in more than 25 years, only one kilometer has been constructed.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran suspended the operation of paragraphs 77 and 78 of the judgment after hearing seniors advocates Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi and A N S Nadkarni on behalf of project proponent NICE Ltd and another.

In its order on February 16, the court issued notice to private landowners and others, while agreeing to examine the plea against the judgment.

It fixed the matter for consideration on April 9, 2026.

"The operation of the said paragraphs shall remain stayed meanwhile," the bench said.

In its decision, the High Court came down heavily upon the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), Nandi Economic Corridor Enterprise Limited (NECE) and the state authorities for "killing" the Bengaluru-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) Project “at the cost of the citizens and the environment”.

A division bench of Justices DK Singh and Venkatesh Naik T directed the state government to take a re-look at the project by discarding the old one.

The bench made these observations while dismissing a petition seeking sites as promised in lieu of about eight acres of land acquired in Kommaghatta Village, Kengeri Hobli, Bangalore South Taluk for the project.

The BMIC project (framework agreement of 1997) was to construct an expressway between Bengaluru and Mysuru, Peripheral Road connecting national highways on the outskirts of Bengaluru and link roads. Apart from the expressway and the link roads, the project was supposed to construct five townships as approved by the state government.

“As of today the population of Bengaluru would be around 1.4 crores. This ambitious project and planning as delineated in the PTR (Project Technical Report) has remained only on paper, even after 30 years for various reasons including the large scale corruption, the political and bureaucratic interferences, alleged violations of commitments by both sides," the HC had noted.

It also found that out of 111 kms Bengaluru Mysore infrastructure road, only one km has been constructed by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise, which has constructed 47 kms peripheral roads from which it collected toll tax to its profit.

"But the ambitious and the project of such a public interest to decongest the city and to develop new satellite township has remained only on papers,” the bench had said.