CM directs to speed up legal steps to acquire Palace Grounds

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday called for expediting the government’s legal fight in the Supreme Court to acquire the Bangalore Palace and the surrounding spaces over which the Mysuru royal family has laid claim.

Siddaramaiah’s direction came at a Cabinet meeting and a day after the royal family’s scion, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, got the BJP ticket for the Mysore-Kodagu Lok Sabha seat. 

The Bangalore Palace (Acquisition And Transfer) Act, 1996, was enacted by the Janata Parivar government in which Siddaramaiah was holding finance portfolio.

The move didn’t sit well with the Mysore royal family, which promptly went to the Karnataka High Court. When the HC upheld the government’s decision, the royal family knocked on the doors of the SC, which instructed the state government to maintain ‘status quo’.

Since then, the matter is awaiting a decision from the court. 

The issue surfaced again in 2015 during Siddaramaiah’s first term as Chief Minister and the CM assured the Legislative Council that the government would expedite legal proceedings to take over the Palace Grounds. 

Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the CM criticised the enormous delay over getting the status quo order evicted.

“This is the original case. Unless this is resolved, confusion prevailing over Palace Grounds will continue to linger on. So, the CM has directed officials concerned to hire expert lawyers to expedite the case,” he said.

TDR row

Meanwhile, in the wake of the Supreme Court initiating contempt proceedings, Gowda said that the state government in principle agreed to acquire 15.39 acres of Bangalore Palace grounds for widening the Ballari Road by issuing Transferable Development Rights (TDR). 

He argued there is confusion over who owns the land as there is no khata registered in any private individual’s name; besides, the 1996 Act is not fully void yet. “We will request the Supreme Court to guide the state government on who should hand over the TDR rights,” he said.

He added that the decision on road widening and acquiring Palace Grounds land was decided in 2006-07; in 2022, the previous government decided to relinquish the acquisition.

“Based on this, the claimants (royal family) approached the Supreme Court and it (court) directed the Chief Secretary, Urban Development Additional Chief Secretary and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner to appear before it by initiating contempt proceedings. All three top bureaucrats will be appearing in person next week,” he explained. 

The total value of the TDR, instead of the cash compensation, may be Rs 1,396 crore.