Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy has accused Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and his family members of illegally registering more than 300 acres of land notified for acquisition for the Bengaluru–Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor, popularly known as the NICE project. Shivakumar rejected the allegation, saying his children had purchased property within the law.
Kumaraswamy made the allegations at a media conference on Tuesday and released what he described as supporting land records, agreements and registration documents. He alleged that the land had been notified for the project and was later registered in the names of members of Shivakumar’s family.
According to Kumaraswamy, the project’s original framework was altered in 2003–04 when Shivakumar was Karnataka’s urban development minister and chaired the NICE project authority. He alleged that more land than required was allocated under the revised arrangement and that some of it was subsequently registered in family members’ names. He also claimed that the NICE company issued no-objection certificates to 420 people in 2015.
The Bengaluru–Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor was originally conceived through a memorandum signed during H.D. Deve Gowda’s tenure as chief minister, Kumaraswamy said. He maintained that the original agreement was not directly with NICE but with a consortium involving CHB, Kalyani Group and S.A. Engineering and Construction, under which 20,193 acres were to be provided.
Kumaraswamy further alleged that land on both sides of the corridor had been used for real-estate activity and that lakes had been damaged. He claimed that 2,700 acres around Bengaluru, including land connected to NICE, had been misappropriated. He also cited a rise in the value of assets from ₹4 crore in 2003 to ₹1,413 crore in 2023, asking how such an increase was possible. The report did not include an independent assessment of those figures.
He specifically alleged that 10 acres of notified project land was first purchased in the name of a person identified as Amashe Gowda and later transferred to Gowramma, identified as Shivakumar’s mother. He also alleged that some land was registered in the name of D.K. Suresh and later used for an apartment development through an agreement with Shobha, a real-estate company.
Kumaraswamy called for Shivakumar’s resignation or removal and demanded the arrest of NICE project contractor Ashok Kheny. He also challenged Shivakumar and members of the state Cabinet and legislature to a public debate at the steps of Vidhana Soudha. He said he would continue pursuing the issue until land acquired from farmers was returned to them.
Responding in New Delhi, Shivakumar said his children had purchased property within the legal framework and asked what was wrong with those transactions. He added that they would buy more property if they had the capacity to do so. Shivakumar also questioned why Kumaraswamy had remained silent on the NICE matter for so long and pointed out that his father had signed the project file when he was chief minister. The response did not include specific comments on each of the land records cited by Kumaraswamy.
The allegations place renewed focus on how land notified for major infrastructure projects is transferred, released or granted no-objection certificates, and on the responsibilities of project authorities, government departments and private concessionaires. No official investigation or adjudication establishing wrongdoing was cited in the report. The next steps will depend on whether the state government, investigating agencies or project authorities examine the documents released at the press conference.
