Overview
- Members of the court-appointed Central Empowered Committee, led by Chandra Prakash Goyal, are surveying the park and meeting senior Karnataka officials, including the chief secretary.
- A November 2018 notification reduced the eco-sensitive zone from 268.9 to 168.8 square kilometres and narrowed the buffer from about 4 kilometres to roughly 1 kilometre.
- Citizens and activists led by K Belliappa petitioned the Supreme Court in May 2025, arguing the cut undermines the ESZ’s protective purpose.
- Petitioners allege pressure from real estate and mining interests and say excluded pockets include known elephant corridors, with BNCT pointing to active quarries and a proposed township near the boundary.
- Conservationists describe Bannerghatta as a vital green buffer with tigers, elephants and leopards, warning that weaker safeguards could intensify human–wildlife conflict and local land pressures.