B Khata properties may get A Khata

Ending years of confusion about the legality of B Khata properties, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) has written to the Urban Development Department to issue an amended order to convert them into A Khata properties.

According to sources in the BBMP, unassessed properties that regularly paid property tax were considered B khata properties.

This apart, properties located on agricultural land that had not obtained land conversion certificates by the jurisdictional deputy commissioners or planning authorities like the BDA were also deemed to be B Khata properties.

Even though the BBMP gave B Khata property owners a ray of hope by announcing the regularisation of properties under its controversial Akrama-Sakrama scheme, the same was stayed by the Supreme Court. With the matter pending before the apex court, the owners of B Khata properties, a majority of them fall in areas recently added to BBMP limits, began to exert pressure on public representatives to resolve their problems.

A senior revenue official in the BBMP acknowledged that despite the non-conversion of land, the civic body had been providing such properties with water, sewage and road connections and regularly collecting taxes.

“On average, there are more than 2.5 lakh such properties in BBMP limits. In 2008, many of these were vacant sites but now people have built houses on them,” the officer said.

Confirming the BBMP’s move, N Manjunatha Prasad, the civic body’s commissioner, told DH they were yet to hear from the government. “We have proposed to issue A Khata to all the existing B Khata properties within our jurisdiction from the point of view of revenue mobilisation.”

The civic body could not carry out the move earlier as an amendment made to the Karnataka Land Revenue Act in 2008 virtually stopped the BBMP from issuing A Khata to any of the properties. But following pressure from elected representatives and the problems faced by B Khata holders, the civic body has sought a fresh order.