Many properties in city may soon get 'A' khatas

There is some relief in the offing for thousands of residents in municipal limits having properties in layouts where land use change is approved by the revenue deputy commissioner but lack layout approval by other competent authorities.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will soon take a decision to issue such properties the much sought-after ‘A’ khata. At present, most of the properties have ‘B’ khatas, which are not valid documents and the houses are liable for demolition.

‘B’ khata is only a register to record the presence of properties which are built on diverted plots but do not have any approvals. After registering these properties, the
Palike issues a slip to the owner of the property comprising the entry number with the name of the ledger. This way, the slip gets the name ‘B’ khata.

BBMP’s Taxation and Finance Committee chairperson M K Gunashekar told DH, “We will take a decision on issuing ‘A’ khatas to diverted plots in a week. This will, however, not be applicable to revenue sites formed on agricultural land.”

Issuing ‘A’ khata to such properties will help plot owners get loans and sanctioned building plans to construct a house, said Gunashekar.

He said the Palike spends on basic amenities in these layouts, but never gets any returns.

He added the Palike will see that the civic amenity sites in these layouts are protected. “If there is scope, it will take up carving out some civic amenity (CA) sites in these layouts,” he said.

“Most of these layouts are built on one or two acres of land, so developers never go for any approvals or even seek a no-objection certificate from the BDA or any competent authority.

“Hence, such properties get a ‘B’ khata. Owners of such properties still seek ‘A’ khatas. We will soon take a decision on this,” explained Gunashekar.

By issuing ‘A’ khatas, the Palike aims to increase its revenue. The Palike had earlier started collecting betterment charges from these layouts to recover the development cost.