Deve Gowda meets CM on NICE issue

BANGALORE: Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda urged the state government to take back the excess land given to Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), the promoters of the BMIC project, in order to protect the legality of the original agreement.“I called on Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and explained to him the details of the project. I requested him the need to take back the excess land given to the project promoter in the interest of the farmers... He responded positively to my request,” Gowda addressed the media here on Saturday.According to Gowda, as per the original agreement between Nice company and the state government signed in June 1997, the latter ought to have been given only 13,270 acres of land. A notification had been issued to that effect. Alleging that the Nice company was more interested in real estate, Gowda said the Nice wanted to build a township in the excess land.The former Prime Minister, however, did not elaborate as to who was responsible for giving away 7,000 acres of excess land in 1998 when the JD(S)  government was in office.