Dear Madam,
I am planning to buy land near Himalaya Drug House, Bangalore Tumkur Road  main, 1.5 km from the Ring Road being constructed by NICE Company. I have the following queries regarding the same. 
1) According to people in village Domarahhalli, a ring road adjacent to the Ring Road being constructed by NICE Company, was planned, and the government had given notice to all the landowners pertaining to where the road was planned. Later on when the company went to court the government stopped the work. 
i) Can there be another ring road within 5 kilometres of the 360 feet Ring Road? 
ii) Where will the Peripheral Ring road come from?
2)  Does the Bangalore-Tumkur Road come under the green belt area?
Akkili Manjunath

Dear Akkili Manjunath,
There are various radial roads coming up in Bangalore. They are the Peripheral ring road, (NICE is constructing the road between Bangalore and Mysore), Satellite Town Ring Road and Intermediate Ring Road. The road you are referring to could be the STRR road. To determine where the road is coming in relation to the land, you should get the survey number and then compare it to the notification relating the land acquisition of those roads. The same has to be done to determine the green area status.

Dear Madam,
My father had taken membership of a housing society (in Delhi) in the name of my mother. He had been making payments to the society through his earnings/savings/service benefits, etc. My mother does not have any source of independent income except the savings left by my father.
The flat is occupied by my mother and my family. I am presently working in Bangalore. My father expired five years back and since then, I have been paying the EMI on the loan which the society had taken in the name of members of Delhi Housing Corporation. I have also been paying all maintenance charges and spent a lot on doing up the house.
My mother had made me a nominee for the house in the records with the society. (This might have been changed recently by her.) I have a younger sister who is married and settled, and have no other brothers or sisters.
Sometime back, my mother informed me that she is giving all the savings and jewellery to my sister, but will give the house to me. Now due to certain family problems, my mother has asked us to vacate the house since she wants to sell it.
What are the possibilities of me or my children claiming inheritance in the flat? How do I safeguard my share (if any)? Can she sell the house while we are occupying it? What should I do to ensure that the house remains with me?
Wg Cdr Manoj Kumar (Retd)

Dear Wg Cdr Manoj Kumar,
It seems that the flat has been purchased in your mother’s name by your father. Since the Benami Prohibition Act was passed, the banamidhar (ie, your mother) will be considered the rightful owner. However you can claim back the monies paid with interest, provided you can prove that you have paid the same.

Dear Madam,
I was allotted a site in Anjanapura Layout by the BDA three years ago. After getting the allotment letter I paid the entire amount and have obtained a Possession Certificate for the site. Is this enough to prove that I am the rightful owner of the plot? Also, I have not received any tax notification from BDA and would like to know what will be the penalty for not paying the tax for 3 years.
Aloknath N Rao

Dear Aloknath N Rao,
You should get the sale deed executed in your favour by the BDA to get a good and marketable title. Reminders to pay the tax are not sent and you are required to pay the same at the office concerned. This can be done with additional interest.

Dear Madam,
I am proposing to buy an apartment under construction from the first buyer. I am told that to make the sale effective for me, the first buyer will execute an Assignment Deed assigning in my favour the ‘Agreement to Sell’ and ‘Agreement to Construct’ executed earlier by the builder in his favour.
This assignment deed will be signed by the builder as well as me. Subsequently, upon completion of the construction, which is one year down the line, the builder will execute a sale deed in my favour and register it with the sub-registrar. I am told that this sale deed will also need to be signed by the first buyer or his GPA holder as a consenting party as a matter of abundant caution.
  a) Is it absolutely and legally necessary for the first buyer to sign the sale deed as a consenting party?
 b) Since the purchase consideration will be paid by me in entirety at the time of executing the Assignment Deed, am I not running the risk of the first buyer or his GPA holder refusing to sign the sale deed? and,
 c) If the first buyer dies in the interim, is the GPA rendered null and void?
Padmanabh R S

Dear Padmanabh RS,
If the monies advanced by the first agreement holder is a small amount, you can reverse the same in a Cancellation deed and subsequently get the sale deed registered in your name by the builder after completion. If, on the other hand, a large portion of the monies has already been paid by the first agreement holder, and you are paying him a substantial amount, it is proper that he executes the sale deed as  Consenting Witness. There is no question of either his GPA holder or him refusing to execute the sale deed, if obligations of all parties are drawn up in the agreement itself. If the first purchaser dies, you can enforce the agreement against the heirs, but the agency given to the GPA holder will lapse.

Dear Madam,
I have applied for a KHB Surya Nagara site. If I am allotted a site, can I get loan from any bank?
Mamatha

Dear Mamatha,
Yes, it is possible to get loan from banks, subject to your income status. However, the restriction on alienation for a certain number of years on such sites has to be studied by the banks before granting loan.

Dear Madam,
I have located a property which comes under a survey number X and this survey number is BDA notified. But all houses which come under this survey number are paying taxes to BMP that is also issuing khata and collecting taxes. Could the BDA cause trouble in the future? All the sites in this survey number come under the BMP jurisdiction.Why did the BDA not de-notify this area then? Why is it still holding on to this? All these sites are located in Kavalbysandra Bangalore.
Sanjeev

Dear Sanjeev,
If the BDA has not taken possession of lands notified by it within a reasonable period, (2to 3 years), the notification for acquisition is deemed to have lapsed despite not being de-notified.  In such cases there is no danger of acquisition again.

Dear Madam,
Our father expired in 1972 and has not left a will. He has self acquired property and we intend to sell the same. We are eight sons and three daughters with our mother. All the sisters were married before 1989. We have not partitioned the ancestral property also. The question now is how to divide the proceeds of sale of the self acquired property?
R C Murthy

Dear R C Murthy,
The proceeds of the sale of the self acquired property is to be divided equally between your mother and all brothers and sisters, who must execute the sale deed jointly as Vendors either in person or through power of attorney.

Dear Madam,
In the BMP manual for building construction (residential), off set is to be provided at the front, back, left and right sides. I would like to know whether this off set is applicable only for the ground floor or for the full height of the building?
Gowrishankar

Dear Gowrishankar,
The set back is applicable for the full height of the building. There is no set back for garage, but this cannot be repeated on the first floor.

The author is a practising advocate specialising in real estate matters. You may e-mail your questions to 1.vatsala@gmail.com. Please mark your mail with `Legal Angle’ in the subject line. You may also write to us at: The Editor, Legal Angle, Deccan Herald, 75, MG Road, Bangalore - 560001.

Disclaimer:  All the answers provided herein are of a general nature. It is advisable to get specific legal advice after furnishing detailed history of each individual case.