Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has asked Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to transfer or permit the use of defence-owned land for seven proposed projects in Bengaluru. The requests cover a twin tunnel, road expansions, a link road, a public park and improvements in notified slum areas.

Shivakumar submitted the request during a meeting with Singh in New Delhi on Monday, according to a letter reported by Vijay Karnataka. The proposals involve defence properties across the city, where ownership and permission issues have delayed road, mobility and public-space projects.

The largest request concerns about 730 acres near the Iblur Firing Range, which the state wants to develop as a park and green zone without seeking ownership. The government has also sought permission to improve 10 notified slum areas spread across about 43 acres of defence land. It has proposed mutual agreements and alternative sites where necessary, while noting that equivalent land is difficult to find in Bengaluru.

For the Agara-Sarjapur Road connection, the state has sought land for a 24-metre-wide route through Ejipura. A joint survey increased the requirement from 10.07 acres to 13.709 acres. Another request covers a twin tunnel from the Esteem Mall junction on Ballari Road towards Central Silk Board, requiring 2.039 acres from the Hebbal Defence Dairy Farm and permission to build through defence areas near Mekhri Circle.

The state has asked the Defence Ministry to reduce the licence fee for the tunnel land from 33% of its value to 2%. The fee was calculated at Rs. 607.2 mn. Separate applications seek 6.837 acres for an 18-metre-wide airport road link to Sarovara Layout and 0.775 acres near Mekhri Circle to widen a road from two lanes to three lanes.

Shivakumar has also requested revised building restrictions around Bengaluru’s defence airfields, including reducing the mandatory no-objection certificate radius from 20 km to 15 km. The proposals remain subject to approval by the Defence Ministry and relevant authorities.