Karnataka government brings Bill to bypass 'grave' TDR for Palace land

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government introduced Tuesday a legislation to not pay Transferable Development Rights (TDR) worth over Rs 3,000 crore, as ordered by the Supreme Court, to the erstwhile Mysuru royal family for acquiring 15.39 acres of Bangalore Palace land.

The Bangalore Palace (Utilization And Regulation Of Land) Bill, tabled in the Assembly, will come into effect from January 27 once passed and assented to by the governor.

This move comes days after the Supreme Court directed the Karnataka government to deposit TDR certificates of over Rs 3,400 crore within a week for Bangalore Palace land acquired to widen the Ballari and Jayamahal roads.

The Bill empowers the government to utilise any portion of the Bangalore Palace as per the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996, whose Constitutional validity is pending adjudication with the Supreme Court. The Bill also gives authorities the power to drop any infrastructure project involving the Bangalore Palace land “notwithstanding any judgment or order of any court or any earlier decision taken by the state government”.

Under the 1996 law, the acquired Bangalore Palace land vests with the state. The total value of the entire extent of 472.16 acres of the Bangalore Palace has been determined as Rs 11 crore in accordance with 1996 law whose operation has not been stayed by the Supreme Court, the Bill states.

In December 2024, the Supreme Court, in a contempt case, directed the government to grant TDR as per the prevailing guidance values. The financial effect of this, the Bill argues, will be “grave” and is inconsistent with the total compensation determined as per the 1996 law.

“...the civil appeals relating to the Constitutional validity of the (1996 law) are pending consideration of the (Supreme Court) and the grant of TDR will be an irreversible process, which will have a severe ramification on the state,” the Bill states.

e-Commerce for APMCs

The government has introduced the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Bill for the establishment of an e-Commerce platform to trade notified agricultural produce.

Three other Bills amending existing laws on money lending, pawnbroking and charging exorbitant interests were also introduced “to protect economically vulnerable groups and individuals from the undue hardship, usurious interests rates and coercive means of recovery”.