The State Cabinet on Tuesday decided to regularise constructions on ‘B’ kharab land in and around Bengaluru after imposing a penalty. While the penalty will be four times the guidance value of the land for the General category, it will be two times the guidance value for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories.

‘B’ kharab land would be regularised within an 18-km radius of Bengaluru city by amending Sections 64 (2) and 69 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy said.

‘B’ Kharab land belongs to the government, but is occupied by private people for construction of commercial buildings or houses.

According to official sources, there are about 21,000 acres of such land in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts.

The Revenue Department would send notices to people who have occupied kharab land and ask them to regularise such plots by paying the penalty, he said.

However, the Cabinet decided against extension of the same policy for ‘A’ kharab land in rural areas. In rural areas, kharab land is classified as unfit for agriculture at the time of survey. But kharab land may form part of the land held under private ownership. It might be used for farm buildings or threshing floors. Therefore, such land is exempted from the land revenue assessment in rural areas.

Earlier decisions

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State government is coming up with various plans to generate revenue. Earlier, it had taken a decision to permanently grant leased land to private organisations that include educational institutions and industrial units.

In Bengaluru alone, the government is hoping to generate ₹2,250 crore. The order issued in July states that if the organisation wants permanent grant of land for the purpose for which the land was leased, then it has to pay the guidance value, and for use for other purposes, the organisations have to pay double the guidance value.

At the same time, as per instructions of the State government, the BDA is auctioning corner sites. It has already completed two rounds of e-auctioning and the bidding process is on to e-auction more than 400 sites in the third phase. The decision to sell prime land in the city has come under attack from opposition parties.

BBMP Bill to be tabled

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Bill would be tabled during the legislature session, which would start on Monday. The government has sought suggestions from the ruling and opposition party members to frame the bill.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy said administrative approval was given for ₹30 crore for laying a 2.5-km pipeline to supply 50 MLD of water from Agara lake in the city to Anekal.