Bangalore Palace (image x.com/@Kain_Aerger)
Bengaluru, Karnataka: The Bangalore Palace Grounds land has been a point of dispute between Mysuru Royal family and Karnataka government for a long while. With the recent Bangalore Palace (Utilization and Regulation of Land) Ordinance 2025 the State government has decided to assert its rights over the contested land, which spans 472 acres and 16 guntas near Mehkri Circle.
Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996
The question over the ownership of the Palace grounds land traced back to the state legislature Bangalore Palace (Land Acquisition and Transfer) Act. As per the 1996 Act, all rights and properties belonging to the palace has been transferred to the state government. The Palace, “in public interest to be preserved as a monument with the surrounding open space developed to serve public purpose,” said the Act. … The Act also enabled the government to obtain portions of the palace land for infrastructure development.
For this acquisition, the State was asked to pay Rs. 11 crore as compensation for the entire land, i.e., 472 acres and 16 guntas, at the rate of Rs 2.30 lakh per acre. The royal family challenged the validity of the acquisition law in the Karnataka High Court, but it had upheld the Act. The heirs then approached the Supreme Court in 1997, wherein the top court had ordered the maintenance of status quo. Wadiyar family controlled the former Kingdom of Mysore and the Palace.
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Transferable Development Rights (TDR) Value
TDR is a technique of land development which allows the owner to sell the development rights of a particular parcel of land to
another. The rights are issued in the form of Development Rights Certificate (DRC) wherein the owner can either use it for themselves or sell in the market for cash.
Subsequently, Karnataka government obtained 15.36 acres of the palace land for widening of the Jayamahal Road and the Palace Road over a stretch of 2 km and paid a compensation as fixed as per the 1996 Act. In 2000, for the construction of an underpass at Mehkri Circle, 8,510 square meters of Palace Grounds land were also acquired and similarly compensated. In 2009, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) set out to widen the Ballari Road that leads to Palace Grounds.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court in its December 10, 2024 order in a contempt case, permitted the State government to undertake developmental works but instructed to grant compensation via TDR in accordance with the market value of adjoining land. The top court had set a six-week deadline for the government to issue TDR certificates and as per the prevailing guidance value, and the TDR for the land estimated to be around Rs 3,011 crore.
Following, the government filed an interim application in the top court, urging a review of its order on TDR stating that the action would pose financial burden on the state treasury, but it was rejected.
Bangalore Palace (Utilization and Regulation of Land) Ordinance 2025
The deadline to issue TDR certificates expired on January 21. After the cabinet meeting held on January 24, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the government has dropped plans to issue TDR for Palace Grounds land. According to the government, issuing TDR for the land would not be in the best interests of the state. The cabinet expressed that paying Rs 3,014 crore would not be economically beneficial.
As per the reports, legal experts have advised the Karnataka government to issue an ordinance temporarily to evade the Supreme Court judgement, since the apex court is yet to decide on who owns the entire Palace land.
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The ordinance passed on January 30 intends to control and determine the utilisation of the land under the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996. The Act adhere the ownership of the land with the State and it would authorise the government make a final call on the acquisition. Also, the Act restrained the state’s right to not acquire more land and to withdraw the TDR offer.
The ordinance said, “financial effect of the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court will be grave on the exchequer of the state of Karnataka, and upon the urban planning of the city of Bengaluru,” Indian Express reports.
‘’Until the ownership question is settled, the Cabinet has been directed to handle the TDR case as per the law,’’ Minister Patil told reporters.
Continuing further, Minister held that the government is also planning to file a contempt petition against the royal family for the construction illegal structures on the palace grounds in violation of the 2000 Supreme Court order.
