Expressway issue should be resolved through talks : BJP

New Delhi, June 15 (UNI) Mr Jagadish Shettigar, Member of the BJP's Economic Cell and former Member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, today said the Karnataka government and the promoters of the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) should resolve the issues through discussions.

Expressing concern about the stand-off between the State Government and the promoter of the project Nandi Infrastructure Corridor, Mr Shettigar said both the parties should realise that development of the state was of paramount importance and should be accorded priority.

He said the BMIC could not be viewed in isolation as concerning Karnataka alone as it was a 'showpiece' of public-private partnership which needed to be promoted intensively across the country through active participation of the private sector. ''The project has to move ahead in this context,'' Dr Shettigar told UNI.

Referring to objections by the Janata Dal(S) that the acquisition was much beyond the project requirement, Dr Shettigar said if the Government believed that the original agreement was ''unfair by any parameters'', it should constitute a high-powered committee to investigate the matter and take appropriate action against those responsible for the ''excessive acquisition''. ''However, the issue should be resolved amicably keeping the interests of the area's farmers in mind.'' ''If the land acquired s more than required, then in all fairness, it should be redistributed to the affected farmers. The promoters of the project -- Nandi Infrastructure -- should not indulge in a confrontationist attitude with the government,'' he said.

Dr Shettigar said till now, Karnataka was a ''preferred destination'' for investors and its image should not suffer due to this issue, he added.

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