Karnataka HC notices to Railways, Govt on PIL against PPP Pact on Metro Station

Karnataka HC notices to Railways, Govt on PIL against PPP Pact on Metro Station

The High Court on Wednesday ordered that notices be issued to the South Western Railway (SWR) and the Urban Development Department on a PIL that has questioned a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement between the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) and Mantri Infrastructure Pvt Ltd for construction of Swastik Metro station in Malleswaram.

Bangalore: A division bench of acting Chief Justice S K Mukherjee and Justice B V Nagarathna gave the order on the petition by Bengaluru Residents’ Associations’ Confederation Ensemble (BRACE) and others.

The petitioners contended that the agreement between the BMRCL and Mantri was illegal and that the 2.5 acres of land acquired by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) could not be handed over to a third party. They also argued that the land acquired for Swastik station was transferred to the company in the name of a PPP project and that would benefit only Mantri, not the State government. They appealed for quashing of the agreement.

Opening park to public: The Union government has sought two weeks from the High Court to file objections to a petition filed by one B R Sharan Kumar for opening the General Cariappa Memorial Park off MG Road to the public.

Kumar contended that the park, spread over 22 acres, is a public amenity and people must be allowed into it. Since the Karnataka government contributed Rs 50 lakh to the park’s development, banning people from entering it is unacceptable. A division bench of acting Chief Justice S K Mukherjee and Justice B V Nagarathna on Wednesday gave the Centre two weeks to file objections and adjourned the hearing.