Karnataka HC Slams 'Near-Zero Progress' of 25-Year-Old NICE Corridor, Suggests Abandonment

• The Karnataka High Court criticized the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (NICE) project for completing only 1 km of the proposed 111-km corridor in two decades.
• The court noted that none of the five satellite townships planned since 1995 to decongest Bengaluru have been realized.
• The HC suggested the state government consider abandoning the project, citing its failure to progress and its role in clogging the judicial system.
• Former PM HD Deve Gowda had vehemently opposed the project, alleging excessive land acquisition for commercial exploitation rather than infrastructure development.
• A parallel six-lane Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway, conceptualized by the Congress government and completed under the BJP, was inaugurated in March 2023, while the NICE project remains stalled.

Why It Matters: Karnataka HC urges abandonment of the 25-year-old NICE corridor due to minimal progress and legal issues.