Bengaluru has around 1,353 parks, with the 240-acre Lalbagh Botanical Garden and the 197-acre Cubbon Park being the most iconic. (Express file photo)Following protest by citizens and opposition parties against the bill that allowed diversion of five per cent of government parks for public infrastructure, the Karnataka cabinet on Thursday has withdrawn it stating that it would again seek public opinion before placing it in the next session.The Karnataka cabinet, which held a meeting on Thursday evening, put the proposed legislation on hold. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara told reporters, “The government has decided to withdraw the bill. It will be put in public domain for discussion. We would see if we can reintroduce it in the next session with amendments.”During the recent Assembly session, the Congress-led Karnataka government passed a bill to amend Section 5 of The Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 2026, from the original 1975 act, that allowed the state “to alienate park land by way of sale, lease, gift, exchange, mortgage, or otherwise, up to an absolute limit of 5 per cent of the total area”.Though the government had defended that the land would be used for public infrastructure and utility, BJP and citizens on August 30 held a massive protest at Lalbagh against it.Parameshwara said, “There was a no discussion held in the previous session when the amendment was tabled. It allowed the opposition to create misconceptions about its usage. We will reconsider the provisions in the bill, including those dealing with lease, sale and gift and clarify them before bringing the legislation again.”Bengaluru has around 1,353 parks, with the 240-acre Lalbagh Botanical Garden and the 197-acre Cubbon Park being the most iconic. Following Sunday protests under the banner “Walk in Lalbagh. Walk for Lalbagh” which received good response, on Tuesday, Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar had hinted that the government would revisit the bill.