The petitioner has also challenged the recent permission granted to cut down several trees for construction of a building for UGC’s PM-USHA project. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
The Karnataka High Court on Friday ordered to issue a notice to the state government on a PIL challenging the allotment or lease of land at Bangalore University’s (BU) Jnana Bharathi campus to various public and autonomous institutions for setting up their offices.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonacha passed the order on a petition filed by Swayam Jagruti Seva Trust, Mudalapalya, Bengaluru.
Different bodies
The petitioner pointed out that the land was allotted in favor of University Grants Commission (UGC), Inter University Center for Yogic-Science, Central University of Karnataka, Central Board of Secondary, Council of Architecture, National Assessment and Accreditation Council, University of Visvesvaraya College Of Engineering and National Law School of India University.
The petitioner requested the institutions allotted the land not to cut down any tree for construction work and not to damage the ecological biodiversity of the premises.
Lay restrictions
It was also demanded that the state authorities set restrictions on cutting down trees in the campus and on constructing multi-storied buildings in place of existing buildings instead of using additional land for new constructions. The petition claims that instead of using ecologically sensitive areas for infrastructure development in the campus, the authorities should use about 35 acres of land, which was part of the campus land and was recently returned to encroachers, for BU and other institutions.
The petitioner also challenged the recent permission granted to cut down several trees for construction of a building for PM-USHA (Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) project of UGC.
Published – 21 Nov 2025 21:27 IST
