Green enthusiasts in Bengaluru have started a petition demanding that the proposed construction of a 10-storey building inside Cubbon Park be stopped. This move comes after the Public Works Department (PWD) proposed reviving an earlier project to build an annex to the High Court, in Cubbon Park.
Back in 2019, Heritage Beku started a petition against the project. The petition had garnered over 22,000 signatures, and there was no development on the project after that. This time too, Heritage Beku has started a petition to stop the same project.
“This project has been proposed despite a very clear High Court order, and the Parks and Preservations Act 1975, which does not allow any fresh construction in the park. Horticulture Department officials at Cubbon Park seem to be unaware of the proposal,” according to the latest petition, which has already been signed by over 300 persons.
Apart from the petition, S. Umesh Kumar, president, Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association, said, “The association strongly opposes the approval granted by the Karnataka government to construct a 10-storey building as an annex to the High Court within the Cubbon Park. The building, besides encroaching on the park, will lead to an increase in both human and vehicular traffic. We urge the government to immediately rescind the order,” he said.
However, Horticulture Department officials said there was no decision about the annex’s construction. “There is a proposal from the PWD to construct an annex to the High Court, somewhere near the Press Club. But it is not decided if the construction should happen atop an already existing structure, next to the High Court or another place entirely. It is still under discussion,” said D. S. Ramesh, Director, Horticulture Department.
He added that although there was an administrative approval for the project, newer revisions, which are made now, are still being checked by the officials concerned.
The Cubbon Park Walkers Association has organised a protest against the government’s approval to construct the annex, on February 11, at 11 a.m. near the Central Library
