NICE violations: Siddaramaiah govt may not seek CBI probe

Bengaluru: The Congress government in Karnataka is unlikely to order a CBI probe or initiate any other legal action against the promoters of Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway Corridor project who have been accused of indulging in irregularities.

Besides other charges, the promoters violated the original framework agreement to lease out land meant for the road project to private realtors for developing private layouts.

Highly placed sources in the government said that a few senior Congress party leaders including the then urban development minister, D.K. Shivakumar would come under scrutiny if a thorough probe is ordered.

“Therefore, it is unlikely that the government will order a CBI probe or any other probe. Not only politicians, many senior serving and retired IAS officials would come under the scanner if a proper probe is ordered. Some officials after retirement directly joined the company while a few others joined the board. But many are associated with the company discreetly. So, it is highly unlikely that the incumbent government will act on the report,” the sources added. The Janata Dal (Secular) top brass, which has been relentlessly fighting against NICE since early 2000, however, seems to have decided to strategise before taking the issue forward.

“It was due to the efforts of our party supremo, H.D. Deve Gowda that the issue had reached this stage. Fortunately, the House committee did not come under pressure to compromise on the issues concerning the involvement of senior politicians. We have our national executive on December 8 after which I think, Mr Gowda will pursue the matter,” a source in Janata Dal (Secular) said.