In what may come as a major relief to many property owners in the city, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad has said that B Khata can be delinked from Akrama-Sakrama.
This will mean that B Khata property owners can now avail bank loans, get approvals for building plans and occupancy certificates.
The BBMP issued B Khata (temporary tax record) to thousands of properties after 2008, for the purpose of collecting property tax. However, these owners were unable to avail bank loans, get building plan approvals, or occupation certificates.
The government earlier stated that B Khata properties could be regularised under the Akrama-Sakrama scheme. However, with the Akrama-Sakrama scheme being heard in the Supreme Court, the property owners with B Khata continue to be in a limbo.
On Monday, Mr. Prasad informed the BBMP council that the civic body had issued B Khata to properties that were on lands that had not been converted by the Deputy Commissioner (Urban) and/or in layouts not approved by any planning authority, such as Bengaluru Development Authority or Bangalore International Airport Planning Area Authority. “However, the BBMP has provided all basic amenities such as underground drainage, streetlights and roads. Most of these B Khata properties lie in the 600 sq km area that was added to BBMP limits,” he claimed and added there are around three lakh properties in the city that have been given A Khata, but the BBMP has not given any approval for the building plans or issued occupancy certificates.
He added that the High Court of Karnataka, while hearing cases pertaining to B Khata, had maintained that once added into the city limits, the question of getting land conversion — from agriculture to non-agriculture — does not arise. “We have apprised Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, who is also city in-charge, about this. We have also sought legal opinion from the Advocate-General with regard to delinking the khata from the Akrama-Sakrama,” he said.
Title deeds to slum-dwellers
With the Cabinet deciding to stop issuing title deeds to residents of notified slums in the city in 2011, many representations sent to the government seeking title deeds have been rejected, said N. Manjunath Prasad, BBMP Commissioner.
Responding to a query posed by Mahalakshmi Layout MLA K. Gopalaiah, he informed the BBMP council here on Monday that the Cabinet had revoked the government order issued in 2010 on the issue. In 2010, the government stated that the lands of the notified slums would be transferred to the BBMP at no cost by the various departments, and the civic body could issue title deeds and lease agreement for 10 years to the residents. “The Cabinet decision was in line with the JNNURM rules that made way for vertical development in the slum areas,” he said and added that he would raise this issue with Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara.
Mr. Gopalaiah sought the BBMP to issue title deeds and allow residents, who have been living in the notified slum areas for decades, to apply for sale deed by paying ₹200 per sq m.