BENGALURU: More than 200 citizens, resident groups, environmental organisations and civil society groups formed a human chain at Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens on Thursday and urged the state government to roll back its decision to amend the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, which would allow portions of parks and gardens to be used for concrete-heavy infrastructure projects.
In a letter submitted to Chief Minister, the groups demanded protection for Bengaluru’s existing parks and green spaces.
Kathyayini Chamaraj, Executive Trustee at CIVIC, said, “The Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, is for ‘preserving’ parks. You cannot bring an amendment to alienate 5% of the parks, which goes against the very objective of the parent Act.”
Sandeep Anirudhan, Founder at Conscious Communities, called the move another nail in Bengaluru’s coffin. He said, “A healthy urban area requires at least 30% green cover, whereas Bengaluru’s green cover has dropped to nearly 2-3%, which is unacceptable. Bengaluru had nearly 70% green cover just five decades ago. The government’s approach increasingly appears to prioritise real estate and infrastructure interests over environmental safeguards and public interest.”
Greenpeace India, an environmental group that organised the human chain, observed that Bengaluru is becoming hotter and more climate vulnerable, yet the government is making it easier to take away one of the city’s most important forms of natural infrastructure.
