Why Karnataka’s two new laws sparked controversy over Bengaluru tunnel road project

Why Karnataka's two new laws sparked controversy over Bengaluru tunnel road project While the Bills, passed without debate, seem to govern parks and urban mobility, they are being seen as disguised efforts to facilitate construction of a 16.75-km tunnel road – a.

Key points

• This amendment to the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) Act, 2022, provides deemed clearances to major city projects proposed since 2023.
• The proposed law amends the Karnataka Administration Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, and diminishes the protection accorded to parks in cities like Bengaluru.
• The Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
• Here's what to know regarding the two Bills, why they are attracting criticism, and the controversy surrounding the Rs 40, 000 crore Bengaluru tunnel road project.
• How Karnataka intends to tackle Bengaluru traffic with 40-km tunnels and 500-km metro lines.

According to Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar, the Bengaluru tunnel road project would support ease the traffic burden in the heart of the city. Photo: X/ANI.

Meanwhile, the passage of two Bills in the Karnataka state legislature on governing parks and urban mobility – two existential subjects in the state capital Bengaluru – by the ruling Congress administration during a short-lived monsoon session has fuelled a controversy.

On Monday (August 24), the two Bills – The Karnataka Administration Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and The Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026 – were passed by both Houses of the legislature without a debate, against the backdrop of protests by the opposition BJP demanding the resignation of a Congress minister accused in a corruption case.

While the Bills seem innocuous in nature in terms of its stated purpose – allowing usage of 5% of protected park lands in Bengaluru for public utilities and providing retrospective clearance for major ticket urban mobility projects – they are additionally being seen as disguised efforts to facilitate construction of a controversial and unpopular 16.75-km city tunnel road. It happens to be a pet project of Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Here's what to know regarding the two Bills, why they are attracting criticism, and the controversy surrounding the Rs 40, 000 crore Bengaluru tunnel road project. The Karnataka Administration Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

For context, the proposed law amends the Karnataka Administration Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, and diminishes the protection accorded to parks in cities like Bengaluru. It has been known as a "Garden City" previously before traffic woes took over. It allows the state administration "to alienate park land by way of sale, lease, gift, exchange, mortgage, or otherwise, up to an absolute limit of 5% of the total area".

While the administration has argued that the new law "applies strictly in favor of Government Departments, Statutory Authorities, Government Companies, or Local Authorities for public utility projects", the Opposition and environmentalists see the Bill as unlocking the door to commercialisation and apply of parks for state infrastructure projects.

Notably, the amendment withdraws restrictions imposed in Section 5 of the 1975 Act (on diversion of park land for alternative purposes by the state) by allowing the diversion of 5% of any park land for public infrastructure purposes. According to the new law, the diversion of park land can be authorised on the basis of the recommendations of a High Level Committee created by the state if the committee "considers it to be expedient in public interest to permit the utilization of any land or building or parts thereof comprised in a Park or Garden." as being in public interest.

Bengaluru has around 1, 353 parks, with the 240-acre Lalbagh Botanical Garden – which is over 200 years old – and the 197-acre Cubbon Park being the most iconic ones.

Notably, the BJP has criticised the new law as "full scale real estate commercialisation" of parks, and have alleged that it is intended to facilitate the construction of the controversial tunnel road through Bengaluru's iconic Lalbagh Botanical Garden. This will be undertaken by the Adani Group. It is the lowest bidder for the project.

"Bengaluru is already choking, stripped of its canopy, and desperate for green spaces. Instead of expanding and fiercely guarding our parks, this administration views public open space as nothing more than a private land bank waiting to be monetised, " R Ashoka, BJP MLA and the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, stated on social media.

Bengaluru South MP and BJP leader Tejasvi Surya. This person has filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court against the proposed tunnel road project running through five acres of the Lalbagh garden, pressed in a letter to the Governor to deny assent for the amended park preservation law and "refer it back to the State Legislature for reconsideration". He additionally pointed to the proposed Hebbal Short Tunnel project needing approximately 3.45 acres of Hebbal Lake. It he called a "crucial aquifer" and an "ecologically important green space" in the city.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya in Bengaluru on August 26, 2026. Photo: ANI Karnataka CM Shivakumar denied claims that the new law will allow commercialisation of parks and facilitate usage of Lalbagh for the tunnel road project. He remarked that the tunnel road "will pass under Lalbagh but Lalbagh itself will not be affected".

"In a corner. There may be a requirement for land usage during construction. It will be a small portion that is not applied. There may be temporary usage for six months for storage of machinery, that is all, " he remarked.

Shivakumar, who has interests in the real estate sector in Bengaluru, continued his administration would create six new parks on the lines of Lalbagh in and around Bengaluru, spread over 5, 000 acres of land. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

This amendment to the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) Act, 2022, provides deemed clearances to major city projects proposed since 2023. It is widely seen as an effort to circumvent BMLTA evaluation and clearances of major Bengaluru mobility projects like the tunnel road project and other constructions.

For context, the law amends Section 19 of the Act by introducing a new subsection. It notes: ".all projects initiated during the period commencing from the date of commencement of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority Act, 2022 (Karnataka Act 06 of 2023) and ending immediately before the date of notification of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority Rules, 2026, ., shall be deemed to have been taken, prepared, undertaken or instituted, as the case may be, under this Act."

Before this amendment, Section 19 remarked the BMLTA had the power "to approve all major Urban Transport projects proposed" for Bengaluru "from the perspective of consistency with the Comprehensive Mobility Plan" in a time-bound manner.

In short, why Karnataka's two new laws sparked controversy over Bengaluru tunnel road project is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.