Bengaluru: Six past amendments allowed specific park land diversions; new Bill proposes 5% blanket provision

The new draft Bill introduced during the recently concluded Monsoon Session seeks to allow a general diversion of park land

Published - September 02, 2026 09:33 pm IST - Bengaluru

Among the earlier permissions was the alienation of 1,223 sq. metres (0.30 acres) of the Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park near Raj Bhavan Road. | Photo Credit: File photo

The Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, has previously been amended six times to permit the use or alienation of specific portions of government parks for identified public projects. All six alienations have been incorporated as amendments under Section 5 of the Act. However, the new draft Bill introduced during the recently concluded Monsoon Session seeks to allow a general diversion of park land.

The 1975 Act was originally enacted to protect government parks and gardens from being diverted for other uses, but Section 5 was included to provide for specific exemptions. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday said he would examine and discuss why the proposal to allow diversion of 5% of park land was introduced, and also review what the BJP and previous governments had done, and which lands had been allotted to whom in the past.

As per the documents, the earlier approach under Section 5 of the Parks Act was essentially exception-based: a specific parcel was identified, the extent was specified, and the purpose for which it could be used was mentioned in the law. The 2026 amendment adopts a different approach. It retains the existing Section 5 as sub-section (1), but proposes to insert a new sub-section allowing the State government, on the recommendation of a High-Level Committee, to alienate or permit the use of land or buildings in a park for specified public purposes up to 5% of the park’s total area.

Among the earlier permissions was the alienation of 1,223 sq. metres (0.30 acres) of the Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park near Raj Bhavan Road. The alienation was meant to facilitate road widening by the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. Another provision allowed 1,135.18 sq. metres (0.280 acres) of Lalbagh along its western boundary to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. for the construction of an elevated metro station. Both amendments were enacted in 2008.

Section 5 also provided for the use of two specified portions of Cubbon Park, measuring 2,126.71 sq. metres (0.52 acres) and 11,160 sq. metres (2.75 acres), with their boundaries specifically identified in the legislation.

Another provision permitted 18,028.35 sq. meters (4.45 acres) between the High Court building and the old KGID building to be used for parking vehicles of High Court advocates and visitors.

The provision further covered 49 acres and 34 guntas, approximately, comprising Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha, and other structures, allowing the land to be used for repairs and other developmental works.

Published - September 02, 2026 09:33 pm IST

Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.