Karnataka HC asks state government to provide list of open spaces in Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the state government to provide the list of parks, playfields and open spaces in the BBMP and BDA jurisdictions.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka was hearing a PIL dealing with the obligatory functions of the state government, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to improve and properly maintain the existing public parks, gardens, playgrounds and recreation grounds.

The high court Legal Services Committee had filed the PIL last year, seeking the court’s intervention. The bench directed the state government to place on record the steps taken to preserve the parks as well as horticultural gardens.

The court has directed the respondents to place on record details while dealing with certain provisions under the Karnataka Parks Playfields and Open Spaces (Preservation and Regulation) Act, 1985 and under the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975.

The bench said once approval to the list of parks, playfields and open spaces is granted by the state government in accordance with Section 4 and Section 5 (when the list is revised and new lands are added), there is a prohibition under Section 6 of the 1985 Act. Section 6 says that no park shall be used for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was used on the date of commencement of the act.

The petition has stated that in the list of parks uploaded on the BBMP website, the last column for remarks about the condition of the park is blank for many parks. In some other cases, the BBMP itself has entered the remark as ‘average’.

The matter has been posted to April 5.

No construction in park premises

In the previous hearing, the court had observed that even under the provision of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, it is the obligatory function of the BBMP to make provisions for public parks and to maintain them.

The court had directed the respondents to ensure that no construction, which is likely to affect the utility of the park, be allowed in the parks.