K'taka Govt's cheque to NICE bounces

Bangalore, June 14 (UNI) The cheque issued by the Karnataka Government to Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), the promoters of the controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC), towards payment of penalty imposed by the Supreme Court has bounced, allegedly due to insufficent funds.

The company, in a release here today, said it had presented the State Bank of Mysore, Treasury Branch (A/c No. 10638), cheque, but the Canara Bank had returned it on June 13, citing insufficient funds.

However, Principal Secretary of the Finance Department N Gokulram said it was not a treasury cheque and there was no liquidity problem with regard to Government cheques. It could have been a cheque issued by the Public Works Department or one of its officials and Rs five lakh was an insignificant amount for the Government.

The Supreme Court had slapped a penalty of Rs five lakh on the State Government in its ruling on April 20, terming the Government's appeal against the High Court order, which upheld the acquisition of 20,193 acres by NICE for the project, as ''frivolous arguments.'' NICE and the State Government were at loggerheads over the company's claim of 2,450 acres of land out of the total 20,193 acres, which the Government said was not needed to execute the expressway project and would be redeemed.

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