A meeting between Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani Sunday triggered a political row, with the BJP Monday alleging the meeting was linked to the group’s bid for Bengaluru’s proposed tunnel road project.Responding to reporters about the meeting with Adani, Shivakumar said the industrialist paid a “courtesy visit” after he became the chief minister and held discussions.However, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders questioned the timing, pointing to the Adani Group’s status as the lowest bidder for two packages of the 16.75-km tunnel road project.“The Congress government is giving away the city’s parks with a new law for diversion of five per cent of park land for private commercial purposes. This is to benefit Adani. Karnataka CM Shivakumar’s meeting with Adani is linked to this. It will facilitate construction of a tunnel road through the Lalbagh (a garden in Bengaluru),” Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said in the Assembly.Also Read | Bengaluru citizens call for ‘pause’ on Hebbal short tunnel projectThe Cabinet recently approved a Bill to amend the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, allowing up to five per cent of public park land to be diverted for public infrastructure. The Bill was tabled in the Assembly Monday.On Sunday, Ashoka said the Congress Government in Karnataka “is preparing to carve up the lungs of our city by legalising the transfer of up to 5% of public park lands”. “They wrap this betrayal in the rhetoric of “public use,” but make no mistake: this is a gateway to full-scale real estate commercialisation,” he said in a social media post.“Karnataka demands leaders who safeguard public wealth, not a land mafia regime that continuously auctions off Bengaluru’s green cover to the highest bidder,” he added.The tunnel-road project has faced sustained opposition from BJP leaders and urban-mobility experts, who have argued that Bengaluru should prioritise expanding its metro network instead. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has challenged the project in the Karnataka High Court.The proposed alignment has also drawn criticism over its impact on Lalbagh Botanical Garden.Adani lowest bidder for tunnel roadThe Adani Group emerged as the lowest bidder for both packages of the tunnel road project, which proposes an underground north-south corridor between Hebbal and Silk Board. Its combined bid of Rs 22,267 crore is about 24 per cent above the government estimate for the first package and about 28 per cent higher for the second.As per the bids opened by Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE), last year, Adani Group quoted Rs 22,267 crore against the government estimate of Rs 17,698 crore.Story continues below this adAlso Read | With toll, Bengaluru tunnel road may add to traffic snarls and add 22 gridlocks: Detailed Project ReportThe government invited bids for the tunnel road when Shivakumar was deputy CM in charge of Bengaluru’s development.The tunnel road project, structured under a build-operate-transfer model, envisions 40 per cent government funding with the remaining investment coming from private concessionaires. Of the four infrastructure companies that initially participated in the tenders, only two advanced to the financial round after the technical evaluation: Adani Group and Hyderabad-based Vishwa Samudra Engineering Ltd.For the first package, from Esteem Mall near Hebbal to Seshadri Road, the government estimate was Rs 8,770 crore, while Adani quoted Rs 10,867 crore. Hyderabad-based Vishwa Samudra Engineering quoted Rs 12,432 crore.For the second package, from Seshadri Road to St John’s Hospital in Madiwala, the government estimate was Rs 8,928 crore. Adani quoted Rs 11,400 crore, while Vishwa Samudra quoted Rs 13,042 crore.Story continues below this adAlso Read | ‘Not real estate assets’: Tejasvi Surya slams Karnataka Bill allowing diversion of park landOn the lowest bid amount being much higher than the original estimates, Shivakumar said last year that “the government is not paying any money to the bidder”. “The bidder has to invest in the project, and we will give them only 40 per cent of our estimates.”The project is proposed under a build-operate-transfer model, with the government expected to fund 40 per cent of the estimated cost and the private concessionaire the remaining amount. The Adani bid, however, remains subject to the government’s decision and the tender has not been formally awarded.