BENGALURU: The Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was passed in the Assembly on Monday, paving the way for the State government to alienate up to five per cent of the total area of a park or garden for public utility projects.
The Bill seeks to amend the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, and allows the government to use a limited portion of park land for public purposes.
The provision will apply to government departments and companies, statutory and local authorities.
Under the amendment, based on the recommendations of a high-level committee, the State government can sell, lease, transfer, gift, exchange, mortgage or otherwise alienate park land, subject to an absolute ceiling of five per cent of the total area.
Any such proposal must be examined by a committee headed by the additional chief secretary before being recommended to the government.
Bengaluru’s Garden City tag will be gone: Ashoka
The Bill also provides for the use of land or buildings within parks and gardens for public infrastructure and public utility projects, which would be considered to be in public interest. The five per cent ceiling will include all land that has been previously alienated, ensuring the overall limit is not exceeded. At the same time, developments undertaken by the Horticulture department for its own administrative and allied purposes have been kept outside the five per cent restriction.
The Bill also creates a special provision for limited use of land within horticulture farms for core horticulture projects, including post-processing facilities, cold storage units, production of improved varieties and agro-based industries that directly benefit the local farming community. Such projects must be supported by recorded reasons establishing public interest and necessity. This was approved at the recent cabinet meeting.
The passage of the Bill came a day after Gautam Adani met Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru. The Adani Group is the lowest bidder for the Chief Minister’s ambitious Bengaluru tunnel project. The proposed 17-km tunnel road, connecting Hebbal and Central Silk Board, requires a few acres of Lalbagh land.
The bill also cites previous instances, including the use of land at Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park for road widening, Lalbagh for the Metro project, and portions of Cubbon Park for civic infrastructure and parking.
BJP leaders, who were protesting outside the Assembly, demanding the removal of minister B Nagendra, criticised the government for passing the Bill without discussion. LoP R Ashoka alleged that the amendment was being brought to accommodate the Adani Group for the tunnel project. “Five per cent of Lalbagh means over 10 acres of land. The government is now eating into park land too. Bengaluru’s Garden City tag will be gone,” Ashoka said.