Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has alleged that Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise, or NICE, collected ₹4,756.48 crore in toll revenue from 2008-09 through 2024-25 while major parts of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor project remained incomplete.
Speaking in Bengaluru on October 7, Kumaraswamy renewed his demand that the Karnataka government stop toll collection on NICE Road. He said the cumulative toll amount was nearly three times the project's original estimated cost of ₹1,583.76 crore, according to The Hindu and Moneycontrol.
The ₹4,756.48 crore figure is Kumaraswamy's stated calculation. An independently audited government document confirming that exact cumulative toll total has not been identified in the public material reviewed for this report.
What Kumaraswamy is alleging
Kumaraswamy said toll collection began in 2008 even though obligations under the agreements governing the project had not been fully completed. He questioned why motorists continued to be charged when substantial portions of the originally planned infrastructure remained unfinished.
According to figures cited by him, annual toll revenue rose from ₹5.59 crore in 2008-09 to ₹734.97 crore in 2024-25.
His latest statement continues a long-running dispute over the project. Kumaraswamy has previously called on the Karnataka government to take over the project and stop toll collection that he considers unauthorised.
What the Karnataka High Court found
The Karnataka High Court has separately recorded breaches of the project's Framework Agreement, including increases in toll rates without prior approval from the state government.
In its July 29 judgment concerning land-acquisition disputes linked to the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor project, a Division Bench of Justices D.K. Singh and T.M. Nadaf examined how the project had been implemented over the years.
The High Court judgment recorded that NICE had increased toll charges on multiple occasions without obtaining prior state approval, contrary to the Framework Agreement.
The court also referred to an affidavit filed by Karnataka's Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works Department, stating that only about 5km of the proposed 111km Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway had been constructed after roughly 25 years.
The bench said the circumstances warranted independent assessment and a forensic audit of the project. Those judicial findings independently support concerns over compliance with the Framework Agreement, but they do not establish Kumaraswamy's exact ₹4,756.48 crore cumulative toll figure.
The High Court case arose from land-acquisition disputes
The July judgment arose primarily from appeals involving land acquired for the BMIC project and delays in determining and paying compensation to affected landowners.
The High Court dismissed appeals filed by NICE and the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board and upheld relief granted to landowners. Its observations about tolls, project implementation and other alleged deviations formed part of the wider examination of how the corridor had been developed.
The judgment did not itself order the immediate closure of all NICE toll plazas. Kumaraswamy's demand to stop toll collection would require separate action by the government or a further binding judicial direction.
Supreme Court declined to stay the High Court order
The dispute has since reached the Supreme Court. On October 5, the court considered special leave petitions arising from the Karnataka High Court judgment and declined to stay the High Court order at that stage.
The connected matters have been listed for further hearing on November 2, according to a report on the proceedings by The Times of India.
What this means for NICE Road users
Kumaraswamy's statement does not itself end toll collection. As of October 7, no final government notification or court order has been announced abolishing NICE Road tolls altogether.
The immediate question is whether the Karnataka government will act on the High Court's findings and Kumaraswamy's renewed demand while the litigation continues before the Supreme Court.
The next major legal development is expected when the Supreme Court takes up the connected petitions again on November 2. Until then, the ₹4,756.48 crore figure remains Kumaraswamy's stated calculation, while the High Court's documented findings concern breaches of the Framework Agreement, land acquisition and the wider implementation of the project.