Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday (October 7) alleged that NICE had collected ₹4,756.48 crore in toll revenue since 2008 in violation of norms despite the project remaining incomplete, and demanded that toll collection be stopped immediately.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Mr. Kumaraswamy alleged that the toll collection was being carried out in violation of the terms governing the NICE project.

“The original project cost of the NICE road was ₹1,583.76 crore. But the company has collected ₹4,756.48 crore through tolls which is almost three times the original project cost,” he claimed.

The annual toll collections that stood at ₹5.59 crore in 2008-09 had risen to ₹734.97 crore by 2024-25, he stated.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said a Toll Concession Agreement (TCA) was signed on September 4, 2000, between the State Public Works Department and NICE. Among others, the agreement envisaged the construction of a four-lane concrete road, service roads and maintenance areas before toll collection could begin. He alleged that the toll collection had begun in 2008, though these conditions were not fully complied with.

Mr. Kumaraswamy claimed that the project alignment was altered unilaterally through the Outline Development Plan (ODP) on February 12, 2004, without obtaining the required Cabinet approval. He alleged that the changes resulted in an expansion of the land allocated to different components of the project.

He also referred to the Karnataka High Court’s judgment of July 29, which, according to him, held that altering the original agreement through the ODP amounted to a “fraud on statute and the Constitution”. Mr. Kumaraswamy argued that, in view of the judgment and the absence of a stay from the Supreme Court on it, toll collection should be stopped immediately.