The state Cabinet on Wednesday decided to allow sale and registration of buildings with ‘B’ khata certificates in Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits.
A ‘B’ khata certificate indicates that the property is not approved by the BBMP, but pays taxes for the civic amenities it enjoys. Taxes paid towards such properties are entered in a register titled B, and hence the name. A ‘B’ khata is not a title deed.
Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had given the green signal to the BBMP to issue ‘B’ khata certificates to buildings on revenue land provided with basic amenities like electricity, water and drainage.
“This decision will fetch about `1,000 crore for the state exchequer,” he added.
Since 2007, when about a hundred villages came under the BBMP’s control, confusion has prevailed over property registration, taxation and municipal betterment charges. Many apartment complexes are built on revenue land without the requisite permissions, and the government had stopped issuing ‘B’ khata certificates in July this year. The Cabinet’s decision will enable buying and selling to resume, and is expected to lead up to the legitimisation process.
The decision will also allow re-sale of properties and boost real estate in the city.
In the process, it will benefit 90 per cent of Bangaloreans, Minister Jayachandra claimed.
The BBMP will be allowed to issue B khatas only to existing buildings.
Property owners can later obtain A khata certificates by paying penalties and regularising buildings under the upcoming Akrama Sakrama scheme, the minister said.
Jayachandra said the BBMP had stopped issuing ‘B’ khata certificates earlier this year, and the decision had become a stumbling block for property owners trying to register or sell their property.
Akrama Sakrama Bill
Jayachandra said the cabinet had decided to reply to Governor H R Bhardwaj’s queries on the Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Bill of 2012, popularly known as the Akrama-Sakrama Bill.
Passed in both houses during the previous BJP government, the bill was returned by Bhardwaj. It aims at regularising revenue sites and houses built on revenue land in urban areas across the state.
The governor had returned the bill with certain observations.
“Once the government approves the bill, we will amend the Karnataka Land Revenue Act,” Jayachandra added.