Bengaluru citizens protest unplanned infra demand green reforms
Citizens across Bengaluru gathered at Freedom Park this weekend, voicing strong opposition to the city’s unplanned infrastructure projects and recent governance reforms. The protests centred on the proposed Tunnel Road project, amendments to the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act (GBGA), and the reduction of lake buffer zones, which residents argue threaten both the city’s ecological balance and its democratic governance.
At the heart of the demonstration was a collective demand for sustainable mobility, stronger citizen participation in planning, and urgent steps to safeguard fragile urban ecosystems. Protesters cautioned that unchecked development and governance failures were pushing Bengaluru towards collapse. They alleged that constitutional provisions for decentralised urban planning were being undermined, as key projects bypassed statutory approval processes.
Experts in urban governance highlighted that the GBGA diminishes citizen participation by abolishing local sabhas and by granting councillors veto powers over ward committees. They stressed that such measures disempower residents and weaken democratic oversight of urban planning. The implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which mandates metropolitan planning and devolved governance, remains absent, leaving Bengaluru’s planning structure fragmented.
The tunnel road proposal came under sharp criticism from mobility specialists, who argued that the project was neither feasible nor aligned with the city’s transport goals. They pointed out that sustainable modes such as metro and suburban rail could move lakhs of passengers daily, whereas a high-cost tunnel would carry only a fraction of that capacity. Such projects, they argued, risk diverting precious public funds away from sustainable mobility investments that could meaningfully reduce congestion and carbon emissions. Environmental experts raised alarm over the government’s move to dilute buffer zones around lakes. They warned that Bengaluru’s wetlands and green cover are already under immense pressure from construction, with diminishing capacity to absorb rainwater or mitigate flooding. With the city facing frequent episodes of urban flooding, activists cautioned that further erosion of ecological buffers would exacerbate vulnerabilities.
The protests also shed light on the wider question of whether the city’s governance model adequately addresses long-term sustainability. While officials argue that new governance reforms will streamline administration, critics maintain that bypassing expert bodies such as the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) undermines evidence-based planning. They emphasised that under existing rules, projects lacking BMLTA approval are not permissible. As legal challenges to the GBGA and tunnel project are being prepared in higher courts, the standoff reflects the growing tension between citizens demanding climate-sensitive urban growth and a state administration pushing large-scale infrastructure. For now, Bengaluru remains at a crossroads, with its residents demanding that the city’s future be shaped by sustainability, inclusivity, and ecological responsibility rather than short-term political imperatives.
