BENGALURU: Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has opposed the state cabinet’s decision to amend the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, to allow up to 5% of government parks’ land to be used for public purposes.
In a letter to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Surya said the proposed amendment could allow parts of the parks to be transferred through sale, lease, gift, exchange or other means and termed the move regressive and not in the public interest.
He said parks were not merely government assets but important spaces supporting biodiversity, public health, recreation and quality of life. He cited Supreme Court judgments emphasising the need to preserve public parks and open spaces.
Surya also linked the attempt to the proposed Bengaluru Tunnel Road, claiming the project would require nearly 1.92 hectares (about five acres) of Lalbagh for a tunnel and shaft. He said the DPR also envisaged parking plazas and a commercial complexes around the shaft.
Pointing out that Bengaluru has around 1,353 parks spread across 1,308 acres, he said Lalbagh and Cubbon Park were critical green spaces amid increasing concretisation, pollution, rising temperatures and rainwater-management challenges.
Surya urged the government to clearly define “public purpose” and make any diversion subject to strict safeguards, environmental assessment, transparency and public consultation. He appealed to the government to reconsider the amendment and protect green spaces for future generations.