Deve Gowda Denounces Karnataka Site Allotment as Fraud

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has launched a blistering attack on the Karnataka government, labeling its decision to grant land sites to project-affected individuals in the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor as a massive fraud. He claims the cabinet action ignores established legal mandates and masks ulterior financial motives.

Editorial·September 7, 2026·reads: 3,303

Deve Gowda Denounces Karnataka Site Allotment as Fraud

The dispute centers on the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Limited (NICEL) project, which Deve Gowda argues continues to operate under a cloud of illegality. Despite explicit warnings from a legislative House Committee, the firm allegedly extracts between ₹2 crore and ₹3 crore in daily toll revenue. The former leader contends that this persistent collection defies both Supreme Court and High Court directives concerning the corridor’s oversight.

In a recent open letter to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Deve Gowda asserted that the cabinet’s latest allocation policy directly violates prior judicial rulings. The project has long faced scrutiny, with the Karnataka High Court previously expressing concerns over systemic implementation failures. By moving forward with the site allotments, the state government now faces renewed allegations of disregarding institutional safeguards in favor of contested administrative decisions.