BENGALURU: Amidst the Opposition parties boycotting the Council proceedings, five Bills were passed in the Upper House, on Thursday.
Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda tabled the Registration (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2023, and said the amendment has been made to enable property owners, whose properties are sold through fraudulent means, to get such registrations cancelled at the district registrar level, instead of going to court.
He said that as per the existing Act, there is no option other than approaching the court and filing a civil suit, which takes years of trial and it is also leading to the pendency of cases in courts. “The amendment will help such property owners, whose properties have been sold to others by creating fake documents or through impersonation, to get the registration cancelled, within three years from the date of such fraudulent registrations,” he said.
The members welcomed the Bill and suggested making changes so that it will be applicable from retrospective effect. Byre Gowda replied that as it was a Central Act, the state government has no powers to do so. “Also, nothing can be done about the civil cases which are already before the court. It applies to properties that are fraudulently registered after the law comes into force,” he clarified, following which the Bill was passed.
Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti said even a property belonging to his sister has been fraudulently transferred and they are fighting to get it back. Meanwhile, Byre Gowda also proposed the amendments made to the Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and stated that the amendment will simplify the process of diversion of agricultural lands for non-agricultural purposes.
“As per the existing process, the land owners have to apply for conversion before the Deputy Commissioner and applicants were being harassed to clear the same. The amendment proposes to make the process simpler and faster as land owners can obtain requisite permissions from the Town Planning Authority concerned by paying the prescribed fee along with self-declaration,” the minister said.
If the agricultural land falls outside the Local Planning Area for which the Master Plan has not been published, the applicant shall submit an affidavit along with an application to the DC. “The concerned authorities shall furnish their opinion within 15 days from the date of receipt of the application. The DC shall issue the approval for diversion for use subject to the opinion given by the authorities.
If the opinion is not furnished within the said period of 15 days, it shall be deemed that the concerned authorities have no objection. Also, if the DC fails to give his decision and issue the order within 30 days, the approval of the diversion for use shall be deemed to have been granted by the DC and the same shall be certified,” the Bill, which was passed, stated.
The Code of Civil Procedure (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2023, which proposes to dispose of cases involving small farmers and persons belonging to the economically weaker sections (persons whose income from all sources does not exceed Rs 50,000 in a year) on priority, as far as possible within six months, was passed. Besides, the Karnataka Conduct of Government Litigation Bill and the Karnataka Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill were also passed.