SC issues contempt notices to 7 Karnataka top officials

New Delhi, Mar 25 (UNI) The Supreme Court today issued contempt of court notices to Karnataka Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary of Public Works Department, Principal Secretary of Revenue Department and Secretary to Urban Development on a petition filed by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Limited (NICE) alleging that contemners violated apex court orders dated April 20, 2006.

A bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam also issued notices to Special Deputy Commissioner of Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, coordinator of Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project and Member Secretary of Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning Authority returnable within six weeks.

The apex court, however, exempted all the bureaucrats from personal appearance in the court while fixing the matter for final disposal in second week of August.

According to NICE, all the officers were individually and collectively guilty of having committed wilful and deliberate disobedience of the Supreme Court's orders.

The petitioner also alleged that the respondents had rendered the execution of the project virtually impossible trough the act attributed to them.

The NICE has already invested over Rs 900 crore, out of which Rs 400 crore had been spent after the orders vide which a cost of Rs 5 lakh was imposed on the state government for deliberately trying to obstruct the completion of the project worth over Rs 2240 crore.

The petitioner prayed to direct the respondents to purge the contempt of the court by ensuring the immediate and speedy implementation of the project.

The former H D Kumaraswamy Government was bent on changing the contractor namely NICE and had alleged that it was indulging in real estate business and by acquiring excessive land having an approximate value of about Rs 30000 crore.

The project is aimed that constructing an express highway between Bangalore and Mysore to decongest the flow of traffic and eight townships are also to be built up.

UNI SC SW HS1610