93% of non-agri land use illegal in Karnataka

Bengaluru: Roughly nine out of 10 farmlands shown as being used for non-agricultural purposes have no legal permission, a startling figure pointing to rampant disregard for the law that has left the government scrambling to deal with unauthorised constructions.

The government, after it started linking Aadhaar with land records, found that 72.11 lakh parcels are under non-agricultural use. However, the government has records showing only 4.69 lakh parcels were converted for non-agricultural use. 

Karnataka has 4.11 crore agricultural plots. 

Under state law, landowners are required to obtain an order from the deputy commissioner if they want to put their farmlands to non-agricultural use. Colloquially, this is known as 'DC conversion'. 

"Governments, over the years, have turned a blind eye to this illegality," Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda told DH. "Our guesstimate is that most farmlands have been turned into revenue layouts. Only a small percentage may have been used for industrial purposes." 

Gowda said unauthorised non-agricultural use of farmlands has a "humongous and cascading effect". He cited the example of illegal layouts in and around Bengaluru. 

"It is estimated that Bengaluru Urban has 13,000 acres of revenue layouts. If these lands were converted and the plans approved, 45% should have been earmarked for roads, parks and playgrounds. That is nearly 6,000 acres of civic amenities that we did not get," Gowda said. 

"With no enforcement of guidelines, the width of roads in such layouts is not as stipulated. Eight families live on a single plot and each one has a vehicle without parking space. Drainage infrastructure is insufficient, leading to flooding," Gowda explained.

With the government's Akrama-Sakrama scheme to regularise unauthorised constructions pending in the Supreme Court, the government has decided to issue 'B' khatas. Unlike 'A' khatas given to legal properties, 'B' khatas are meant for unauthorised assets and allow the government to levy taxes. Owners with 'B' khatas can sell properties, but may face hurdles in obtaining bank loans.

51 lakh dead owners!

Linking Aadhaar with records of rights, tenancy and crops (RTC) has shown that 51 lakh plots belong to dead persons. "This may include duplicates. So, we are pushing such cases to village accountants for further verification," Revenue Commissioner Pommala Sunil Kumar told DH. 

Kumar said the Aadhaar-RTC linkage is crucial. "There are single-owner RTCs, multiple-owner RTCs and joint RTCs. So, the purpose of Aadhaar linkage is to get a headcount of landholdings," he said. For 4.11 crore plots, Aadhaar authentication has been done for 2.21 crore owners, he added.

Plot unearthed

Total agri plots: 4,11,82,387

Aadhaar linked with RTCs: 2,21,65,702

Land parcels under non-agricultural use: 72,11,408

Conversion orders obtained: 4,69,415