Karnataka Assembly passes Bangalore Palace Bill

This Bill enables the state 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 official notice submitted by Chief Minister and Finance Minister Siddaramaiah reads, "I hereby give notice of my intention to move the following amendment to the Bangalore Palace (Utilization and Regulation of Land) Bill, 2025 (LA Bill No.5 of 2025), namely - Clause-3. In the said Bill, in clause 3, after sub-clause (5), the following shall be inserted, namely:- "(6) Notwithstanding anything in the Act, if any compensation has been paid in respect of any portion of Bangalore Palace land pursuant to any order or judgement of any court, the action of the State Government shall remain protected."

The Budget Session of the Karnataka Assembly commenced on March 3. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier said that he will present the Budget on March 7.

Earlier on March 4, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Business Advisory Committee gave its nod to hike the salary of state legislators.

The move is set to spark controversy as when the BJP-led government hiked MLA salaries in February 2022, there was little pushback from Congress or Janata Dal (Secular).

"On March 3, Assembly Session began. As it's the first session of this year, the Governor's address will be made. Discussion on the address will be held for three days. Then, on March 7, the Budget will be presented. After the discussion, I'll speak at the end...," CM Siddaramaiah said.

The Karnataka CM further added that the Business Advisory Committee will decide how many days the Assembly session will be held. Siddaramaiah added that he came to Vidhan Sabha and met leaders. He said that the Opposition leaders gave him their opinion.

"Business Advisory Committee will decide how many days the session should be held for. Although I have pain in my knee, I had meetings with several departments today. I came to Vidhana Soudha, leaders came, and they gave me their opinions. We'll keep all their demands in mind and consider them accordingly. The state government is pro-farmers," he had said earlier. (ANI)