Karnataka Assembly Passes Bill Allowing 5% Park Land Use for Infrastructure

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Monday passed an amendment to the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, allowing the use of up to 5% of park land for specified public infrastructure and utility projects. The move has raised alarm among citizens and environmentalists who warn that iconic lung spaces in Bengaluru, including Cubbon Park and Lalbagh, could lose nearly 20 acres of green cover.

Under the newly passed amendment, up to 5% of the total area of a park or garden can be alienated through mechanisms such as sale, lease, gift, exchange, or mortgage. The amendment restricts beneficiaries to government departments, statutory authorities, state-owned companies, and local authorities executing public infrastructure or utility works.

With Lalbagh spanning over 200 acres and Cubbon Park covering roughly 200 acres, environmental activists noted that the 5% threshold could expose more than 10 acres in each park to diversion. Concerns have been heightened due to the proposed tunnel road project through Lalbagh, which previously faced legal scrutiny over plans to acquire land within the botanical garden.

Dattatreya Devare, trustee of the Bangalore Environment Trust, questioned the invocation of public interest for such diversions, noting that projects primarily serving private vehicular traffic cannot be justified over protecting the city's green spaces. Environmentalists also pointed out that this development comes alongside other policy shifts, such as reductions in lake and stormwater drain buffer zones and relaxed Floor Area Ratio caps.

Vinod Jacob, co-founder of the Environmental Impact Group, cautioned that any structural intervention in Cubbon Park and Lalbagh would harm public health and reduce the city's ability to cope with rising temperatures. Meanwhile, Kimsuka Iyer, a resident of Malleswaram, expressed concern that treating parks as land banks sets a worrying precedent for future infrastructure development.

Senior environmentalist and retired IFS officer AN Yellappa Reddy addressed a letter to the Karnataka Chief Secretary questioning the scientific basis of the 5% allowance. Reddy urged the state government to explore alternative project alignments and review comprehensive biodiversity studies, warning that accepting fixed percentage diversions threatens the delicate ecological balance of urban parks.