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BJP walks out as Karnataka Assembly passes Bangalore Palace Bill to avoid issuing TDR worth Rs 3,400 crore

CM Siddaramaiah says that issuing transferable development rights as per the Supreme Court order would make the Bengaluru roads proposed to be widened the costliest in the world.

The Bill came days after the Supreme Court directed the state government to provide TDR certificates for the erstwhile Mysuru royal family. (Express File Photo)

Amid a walkout by BJP legislators, Karnataka’s Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Bill 2025, enabling the government to drop portions of land required for a road widening project after the Supreme Court directed it to issue transferable development rights (TDR) worth Rs 3,400 crore to the erstwhile Mysuru royal family.

The Bill was piloted by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil on behalf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who said that issuing TDR worth Rs 3,400 crore would have serious ramifications for the government. “The Supreme Court wants us to give TDR worth Rs 200 crore per acre. If we agree to it, the road will be the costliest road in the world. If we agree to it, how are we going to develop the city in the future?” he said.

“Moreover, issuing TDR for the said land would be in violation of Article 39(c) of the Constitution, which says that the economic system should not concentrate wealth and production to the detriment of the common good of the people,” he added.

The TDR was for acquiring around 15 acres of land required to widen Ballari and Jayamahal Roads. With the Bill, the government introduced a provision to drop any parcels of land required for infrastructure development projects on the disputed palace land in Bengaluru.

Opposing the Bill, BJP legislators such as Arvind Bellad and B Y Vijayendra alleged that the government was pursuing vendetta politics against members of the erstwhile royal family because one of its members—Yaduveer Wadiyar—was a BJP MP.

Labour Minister Santosh Lad then asked why the BJP made a similar decision against issuing TDR to the erstwhile royal family when it was in power. A S Ponnana, legal advisor to the chief minister, said the BJP government had made a cabinet decision dropping the proposal to issue TDR.

Following a discussion that lasted close to an hour, the Bill was passed by the Assembly as BJP members staged a walkout.

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The Bill came a day after the cabinet agreed to conditionally deposit TDR worth Rs 3,400 crore in the Supreme Court.

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