Frame guidelines to grant building plans for plots less than 50 sq mts, HC to state

The high court has said that bye-law 7.2 of BBMP Building Bye-laws, 2003 doesn't impose a blanket prohibition to granting sanction of plan for a plot measuring less than 50 sq. mtrs, below 600 sq ft.

Bengaluru, DHNS

The high court has stated that Bye-law 7.2 of the BBMP Building Bye-laws, 2003 does not impose a blanket prohibition on granting approval for a building plan for a plot measuring less than 50 square meters (or below 600 square feet). The court made this declaration while instructing the relevant authorities to issue necessary guidelines for granting building plans, including those for commercial properties on such small plots.

The court also observed that Bye-law 7.2 allows for exceptions in specific cases, such as sites for housing schemes for EWS (Economically Weaker Sections), LIG (Low Income Group), slum clearance and improvement schemes, as well as reconstruction in densely populated areas and plots subdivided due to family partitions. The authority may relax the aforementioned conditions in these cases.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj stated, “If sites for housing schemes for EWS, LIG, Slum Clearance and Improvement Schemes, as well as reconstruction in densely populated areas, can be smaller than 50 square meters, there is no reason why the same would not apply to privately-owned sites. However, the court cannot dictate the parameters for exercising this discretion. It is left to the State to provide and communicate the necessary guidelines for the concerned officers to follow in such cases.”

The court ordered that the matter be relisted on January 29, 2024, to allow the Principal Secretary to present the formulated guidelines for plots measuring 50 square meters or less.

These petitions were filed between 2017 and 2023, with two main contentions. One set of petitions alleged illegal and unauthorized construction by private respondents without obtaining plan approval, in violation of the BBMP building bye-laws. The other set contested BBMP’s actions, alleging illegal unauthorized construction without obtaining plan approval. One common factor in these petitions was that the properties measured less than 50 square meters.

The court noted, “Considering the value of land in a city like Bangalore, even the purchase of a plot measuring less than 50 square meters is a dream for many individuals. They may have acquired such properties by investing their hard-earned money, possibly their life savings, and in some cases, by obtaining financial assistance not only from banks but also from private lenders.”

The court also mentioned that the jurisdictional authority would be entitled to take action as permitted under Section 248 of the BBMP Act, 2020, if the landowner does not commence construction in accordance with the Building Byelaws or approved plan within a period of 6 months.