Mumbai, Sept. 2 -- The Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Bill, 2026 has allowed parts of public parks to be used for infrastructure projects, permitting up to five per cent of parkland to be taken for such works. The amendment, passed during the last Assembly session, has prompted civic groups and experts to warn of cascading impacts on the environment and Bengaluru's remaining green spaces.
Opponents point to Section four, clause two of the 1975 Act, which states that no land or building within parks shall be alienated by way of sale, lease, gift, exchange, mortgage or otherwise and that any such alienation shall be null and void. CIVIC's executive trustee Kathyayini Chamaraj characterised the change as contradictory to the law's purpose and said it is being used to secure legal cover ahead of litigation over the tunnel scheme. She argued that the amendment would permit alienation of heritage parkland that has long functioned as the city's lungs.
Project details circulated by citizen groups identify a 17 km tunnel between Hebbal and Silk Board designed to provide a signal-free corridor for private four-wheelers. The Wilson Garden side would see a 10-metre exit ramp and the twin tunnels would be about 15-metre diameter each, with an entry ramp likely to affect Lal Bagh Lake. Local campaigners and environmentalists estimate that around six acres would be required for ramps, shafts and utility works. Concerns have been raised that construction would harm endemic saplings introduced from the Western Ghats and worsen traffic at the Siddapura-Wilson Garden side.
Former Indian Forest Service officer Yellappa Reddy has asked officials to justify the five per cent limit and to provide the complete record behind the proposal, including the Detailed Project Report, alternative alignments, horticulture and biodiversity studies and reasons for rejecting lesser impact options. He cautioned that an exception presented as limited could become normal administrative practice and urged independent expert scrutiny. Civic collectives have sought clarity on whether scientific assessments support the chosen alignment.
Activists noted that recent rule changes to lake and stormwater buffer zones, conversions of land titles and relaxations of building norms have in practice facilitated road construction and access to land banks, with the net effect of reducing the city's remaining green cover. Campaigners argued that the latest amendment continues a pattern of regulatory change that they say primarily benefits development interests at the expense of environmental safeguards.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.