Bengaluru police at odds with horticulture dept over allowing traffic inside Cubbon Park

The matter has now been taken up by Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh and a meeting was scheduled for Tuesday. Meanwhile, horticulture department officials have maintained that the park should remain closed for vehicular traffic on the aforementioned days to preserve the serenity of the park and protect Bengaluru’s lung space from air and noise pollution.

Further, a section of citizens and environmental groups have launched an online petition titled Cubbon Park Pradakshiney Haaki, demanding that the space remain traffic-free on Sundays and holidays. The petition urges authorities to “leave our Cubbon Park alone,” emphasising that the park becomes a vibrant, safe and accessible space for the public during these traffic-free days. The petitioners argue that allowing traffic inside the park on public holidays is unnecessary, especially since even the high court remains closed on such days.

How has the issue unfolded over the years?

The park comes under the Central Administrative Area of the Government, which includes the Vidhana Soudha Garden, Cubbon Park, Queen’s Park, Children’s Park, Bamboo Groves, the Legislature Home Garden, Karnataka High Court, Central Library, Government Museum and Visvesvaraya Technological Museum, among other landmark places.

Acting on a writ petition filed in November 1997, the Karnataka High Court ordered that Cubbon Park be treated as a quiet zone. As per the judgment, a no-entry notification was to be implemented restricting vehicular movement within the park from 5 am and 8 am.

In 2015, to control air and noise pollution caused by vehicular traffic within the park, a complete ban on all types of vehicles on the inner roads of Cubbon Park was enforced every Sunday through a government notification. Meanwhile, to accommodate motorists and visitors to Cubbon Park and the Visvesvaraya Museum, alternative routes and parking facilities were arranged.

In response to the large number of children, elderly and the general public visiting the park, a notification was issued in 2016, completely prohibiting vehicular movement on the second Saturday of every month. Subsequently, considering that the fourth Saturday of every month is a public holiday for government offices, the horticulture department issued a notice in 2019 restricting vehicular movement inside the park on the fourth Saturday as well as on holidays such as Karnataka Rajyotsava, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti.

The Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru, formalised this directive through a notification in 2020. In July 2023, a proposal was submitted by the traffic police department to the Government, seeking permission to allow vehicular movement inside Cubbon Park on all public holidays.

Based on this proposal, an order was issued in February 2024 to open the gates of the high court in Cubbon Park, allowing vehicular traffic from the court to Siddalingaiah Circle and vice versa on the second and fourth Saturdays until further orders.

Another proposal was submitted in October 2024 to the Government requesting permission to allow vehicular movement inside Cubbon Park on all days. However, following the Cubbon Park Conservation Committee meeting, a letter from the secretary of the horticulture department informed the police department of the decision to impose a complete ban on all vehicles, except emergency services, on all public holidays, including the second and fourth Saturdays.

At the end of 2024, another proposal was submitted to the horticulture department by the traffic police to review the resolutions taken in the Cubbon Park Conservation Committee meeting and reconsider allowing vehicular movement inside the park on all days.