Karnataka land acquisition crisis: Why was 2006 order ignored?

The BS Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka is in the thick of another crisis and this time its because the Supreme Court has taken an exception to its defiance of the 2006 ruling to acquire land for the execution of the multi-crore Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project

It has asked the Karnataka government to explain within six weeks the reasons for non-compliance of its April 20, 2006, order.

A bench of Justice RM Lodha and Justice TS Thakur, asked the state’s advocate general GN Harnahalli to file a detailed affidavit explaining the obstacles being faced by the state in allotting the required land to the developer Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE).

He would also explain the reasons for not complying with the judgment passed in 2006.

During the proceedings on Thursday, the judges concurred with the arguments made by lawyer Dushyant Dave, appearing for NICE, that the state had been reiterating its contentions even though they had been dispensed with.

It’s wasting the judicial time, he added.

“He is right, that it is sheer wastage of the court’s time. It is shameful,” the top court slammed the state.

The judges also told the state’s lawyer not to make the matter complicated by raising simple issues that can be easily decided”.