Fake khata scam 'regularises' over 800 illegal properties in City

In what appears to be a major scam in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), fake 'A' khata certificates have been issued for more than 800 revenue plots (unauthorised land) in Bommanahalli zone after fraudulently entering the property details in the tax assessment register.

Bogus khatas have been created for properties in Arakere, Bommanahalli and HSR Layout wards by making entries in the property tax assessment register (also called A register) illegally. Properties which conform to norms are entered in ‘A’ register, while unauthorised sites find a place in ‘B’ register, and are also called B khata properties or revenue sites in common parlance. Since properties with ‘A’ khata are  fully secured, they are in great demand in the BBMP limits.

A report submitted by Bommanahalli Zone Joint Commissioner N Muniraju to the BBMP three months ago, reveals that bogus khata certificates have been created for both residential and commercial plots in these three wards.

The property owners are said to be hand in glove with the Assistant Revenue Officers (AROs) and case workers of these revenue sub-divisions in creating the fake records.
The Joint Commissioner has named 11 BBMP officials, including Bommanahalli ARO M Basavaraj, HSR Layout ARO Varalakshmi and Arakere ARO Prasanna Kumar, for involvement in the khata scam. The modus operandi is: The unauthorised properties are entered in the ‘A’ register by duplicating serial numbers. For instance, a property assessment register in Bommanahalli ward accessed by this newspaper has the serial number 103 twice. A fake PID (property identification) number is assigned for the entry.
The officials concerned have taken care to destroy all original records pertaining to these properties.

‘A’ khatha is a must for availing loans from nationalised banks. Besides, the BBMP sanctions building plan only for ‘A’ khata properties. The BBMP may issue ‘A’ khatha only for properties having conversion order (also called DC conversion), layout approval,  allotted by either Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) or Karnataka Housing Board (KHB), Clearance Certificate and Occupation Certificate, besides gramatana sites.