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The Karnataka government has decided to withdraw the controversial amendment to the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, which allowed a 5% diversion of park land for public utility use. Briefing reporters after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, September 3, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said that the Bill would be reintroduced in the next session with amendments.
The announcement came two days after Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that they would revisit the amendment in the face of massive public protests, notably in Lalbagh, where, if the amendment stands, several acres could be diverted for accommodating the CM’s ambitious and controversial tunnel road project.
The Bill, which was passed during the previous Assembly session amid opposition protests, will now be withdrawn and placed in the public domain for discussion before being reintroduced in the next session with amendments, Parameshwara said.
“Last session, we brought a Bill to amend the Act. Five per cent of the land was to be used for public purposes. There was no discussion on this. Opposition parties did not participate in this. They politicised it and conveyed the wrong idea to the public of what it means, he defended. The Cabinet has decided to withdraw the Bill, seek opinions from the public and other stakeholders, and reintroduce it after examining the suggestions, he said.
“We will put it in the public domain for discussion and reintroduce the Bill in the next session with amendments,” Parameshwara said. The government will also inform the Governor about the decision. Parameshwara questioned the Opposition for not raising objections or seeking clarifications when the Bill was being discussed in the House.
“They could have had a debate, advised us, proposed changes or sought clarifications,” he said.
Responding to concerns that the amendment would allow the government to take over parks, Parameshwara said the provision was intended to facilitate projects such as the proposed Lalbagh tunnel and not to take away public parks.
“The purpose was not to snatch parks. The purpose was to acquire land for the tunnel road project. They could have had a debate, suggested changes or diversions, instead they politicised it,” he said.
He said the government had explained the purpose of the amendments to Sections 5 and 6, but the issue was never taken up for discussion in the Assembly. Parameshwara said the government would now compile the opinions received from the public and examine different suggestions before bringing the legislation back. He also said they would try to create awareness about the purpose of the amendment.
“We will compile all the opinions from the public and others. We are coming back with it in a different form again,” he said.
He said suggestions had been made to allow different forms of transfer. “Some have suggested lease, sale, gift, or mortgage. We have to re-examine all that, what we can allow and what we cannot allow, and bring it back,” Parameshwara said.
He also said the Opposition had a right to protest but criticised the disruption of Assembly proceedings. “They have a right to protest, but they disrupted the session. We had no other way to conduct some business in the House,” he said.
The amendment allows only government departments, statutory authorities, public sector companies and local authorities to use land under the provision. The government has maintained that it is intended for public infrastructure, not private development.
Environmental groups and citizen organisations, however, have warned that allowing even a portion of protected green spaces to be alienated could make it easier to divert park land for infrastructure and development.
The Bill also came under scrutiny after it was passed a day after billionaire Gautam Adani met DK Shivakumar. An Adani-owned company is expected to secure the contract for the proposed tunnel road project.
The controversy led to a protest at Lalbagh on August 30, with thousands participating in the “Walk in Lalbagh. Walk for Lalbagh” campaign led by retired Indian Forest Service officer and environmentalist AN Yellappa Reddy.
