SC Panel to Inspect Bannerghatta National Park Amid ESZ Reduction Controversy
BENGALURU: In a move reminiscent of the Aravalli controversy, members of a Supreme Court-appointed panel are set to inspect Bannerghatta National Park on Friday. The visit comes in response to a plea against the government's 2018 decision to drastically reduce the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around Bengaluru's green backyard.
The park is under pressure from mining and real estate interests eyeing its contiguous landscape. The core of the dispute is the government's decision to shrink the ESZ from 268.9 square kilometers to 168.8 square kilometers and reduce its width from 4 kilometers to just 1 kilometer.
A group of citizens and activists, led by K Belliappa, approached the Supreme Court in May 2025, arguing that the reduction undermines the purpose of an ESZ. On Friday, members of the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC), led by Chandra Prakash Goyal, will survey the park and speak to senior Karnataka officials, including the chief secretary, to assess the ecological impact of the reduction.
In a preliminary notification in June 2016, the Union environment ministry, in consultation with the state, proposed declaring 268.9 square kilometers around BNP as ESZ. However, the final notification of November 2018 sharply curtailed the protected area—a decision the petitioners alleged was influenced by real estate developers and mining and quarrying interests. They contended that several ecologically sensitive pockets surrounding well-documented elephant corridors were excluded from the final notification.
Kiran Urs, a member of the Bannerghatta Nature Conservation Trust (BNCT), said the ESZ reduction appeared to be an attempt to legitimize existing ecological violations. 'The pockets excluded from the final notification contain active quarries, and there were efforts to build a township along the boundary, which will inevitably exert immense pressure on the ecosystem,' Urs alleged.
Somashekhar, a farmer from Kaduchikkanahalli near the park, claimed he came under pressure to sell his land even after the final ESZ notification. 'However, I continue to hold my land and grow ragi,' he said. Keerthan Reddy of BNCT described the park as one of the best ecological gifts for a burgeoning Bengaluru. 'No other city can boast this vast green landscape in its backyard, dotted with a salubrious population of tigers, elephants, leopards, and countless other species of flora and fauna,' Reddy said.
The city is already witness to rising incidents of human-animal conflict, and violations like these would only add to the problem, Reddy cautioned. The visit by the Supreme Court panel is expected to provide crucial insights into the environmental impact of the ESZ reduction and could influence future decisions regarding the park's protection.
