Karnataka Cabinet to withdraw park land Bill, reintroduce amended version

Karnataka Cabinet has decided to withdraw a Bill allowing up to five per cent of government park land to be used for public utility and infrastructure projects. The government will seek public suggestions, reconsider contentious provisions and reintroduce an amended Bill next session

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet has decided to withdraw the controversial Bill allowing up to five per cent of government park and garden land to be used for public purposes, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said on Thursday. The government will now put the proposed legislation in the public domain, seek suggestions and bring it back in the next session with amendments, Parameshwara told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

“The Cabinet has decided to withdraw the Bill. We will withdraw it, put it in the public domain for discussion and reintroduce it in the next session, obviously with amendments,” he said. The Bill sought to amend the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, to permit alienation of up to five per cent of park land for public utility and infrastructure projects.

---

It provided for forms of alienation, including sale, lease, subject to the five per cent ceiling and other safeguards. Parameshwara said the government had brought the amendment in the previous session but there had been little discussion on it, allowing the Opposition to create misconceptions about its purpose. He said the government would reconsider the provisions in the Bill, including those dealing with lease, sale, gift and clarify them before bringing the legislation again.

He also rejected the interpretation that the government was seeking to take five per cent of Lalbagh itself or a fixed five-acre portion of the botanical garden for the tunnel road project. The decision comes after protests in Bengaluru against the amendment, particularly over concerns that it could facilitate the diversion of green spaces for infrastructure projects.

Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had earlier said he was open to suggestions from the Opposition and the public and would review the proposal. Parameshwara said the government would compile the suggestions received from the public, reconsider the contentious provisions and bring the legislation back in a different form in the next session.