On Sunday, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya turned the morning walking paths of Lalbagh into the venue for a political demonstration, distributing posters and leaflets carrying the line "Lalbagh is for sale" to press his opposition to a Karnataka government plan to hand over more than five acres of the historic garden for a tunnel road project.
A Poster Drive Among Morning Walkers
The Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker, joined by a group of supporters, moved through the park handing leaflets to walkers and visitors, appealing to citizens to "save Lalbagh" from what he described as an assault on the city's green heritage. Surya's objection went beyond the infrastructure project itself. He alleged that the state government's plan also clears the way for commercial exploitation of the heritage site, and that this intent is laid out in official project documents rather than being a stray fear.
What the State's Own Affidavit Says
Speaking during the protest, Surya pointed to paperwork the state government has already filed in court. He said the Karnataka government, in an affidavit submitted to the High Court, has stated that it wants to acquire five acres of Lalbagh land for the tunnel road scheme. According to Surya, Lalbagh is not just another patch of green cover, it is one of Bengaluru's last big lung spaces, a place where residents can find some quiet amid the city's congestion, and it also plays a role in recharging the city's groundwater. Losing five acres of that space, he argued, is not a minor administrative matter but a real loss to the city's ecology.
Tender Papers Point to a Five-Story Commercial Complex
Surya's sharpest charge concerned what the tender and the Detailed Project Report, or DPR, for the tunnel road actually permit. He said the documents show that the contractor awarded the project would be allowed to construct a five-story commercial complex on the very five acres of Lalbagh land the government wants to acquire. In his words,
"the tender permits the contractor to build a five-story commercial complex on the five acres in Lal Bagh that they want to acquire."Surya said this detail is written plainly in both the tender documents and the DPR, and it is this clause, more than the tunnel road itself, that has fuelled his campaign. He described the Lalbagh lake as an important piece of the site's ecology and heritage and said five acres of that land is too significant to treat lightly. He noted that the issue has already been raised in court, and that the court is currently hearing the matter.
Court Has Tied the Tender to the Case Outcome
According to Surya, the High Court has stepped in to ensure the project cannot move ahead unchecked while litigation is pending. He said the court has made the entire tender process, along with the tunnel road project itself, subject to the final outcome of the Public Interest Litigations, or PILs, filed against the scheme. That means, in effect, that the tender and the construction plan cannot be treated as settled until the court rules on the petitions challenging them.
"Not Against Development, But Against the Wrong Kind"
Surya was careful to frame his campaign as one about the manner of development rather than opposition to development itself. He said his fight is not against any infrastructure project and not against development in general, but that Bengaluru needs the right kind of development. His appeal was direct: do not sacrifice whatever little green heritage the city has left for the sake of real estate projects.
The Legal Backdrop Since July 16
This is not the first time Surya has raised the alarm over the tunnel road project and Lalbagh. On July 16, he had already stated that the Karnataka High Court had made the tunnel road project subject to the outcome of the pending PILs and had reiterated its interim protection against the felling of trees in Lalbagh. At the time, he called the project "patently illegal," citing the absence of any environmental impact assessment before it was pushed forward. He said the next hearing for final disposal of the matter is scheduled for August 20.
Recounting that July 16 hearing, Surya said the High Court had heard a batch of public interest litigations challenging the state government's tunnel road project. He said the Chief Justice had directed the state government to inform any prospective contractor or concessionaire about the pending proceedings, and had also directed that no equities should be created in relation to the project while the case remains open, meaning no party could later claim rights or investments made in the meantime as grounds to proceed regardless of the court's eventual ruling. The Chief Justice, he added, had also reiterated the earlier interim order protecting Lalbagh's trees from being felled.
Surya further said the High Court had made both the tender process and the tunnel road project conditional on the outcome of the PILs, with the next hearing set for August 20 for final disposal of the case. He said he was grateful for the interim protection granted by the court at this stage, while repeating his position that the tunnel road project is patently illegal because no environmental impact assessment has been carried out.
