Karnataka government to widen scope of land grab amendment

The Bill, at present, seeks to amend the original 2011 Act to drop all land grabbing cases outside the limits of the BBMP and City Corporations

The BJP government decided Wednesday to widen the scope of a Bill that proposes to drop all criminal proceedings under the land grabbing law in areas falling outside city limits.

A new version of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition (Amendment) Bill will be moved in the Assembly on Thursday after lawmakers expressed concerns that the current form of the proposed legislation would benefit landsharks and real estate 'mafia'.

The Bill, at present, seeks to amend the original 2011 Act to drop all land grabbing cases outside the limits of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and City Corporations. This will be changed to cover a wider radius so that lands grabbed in suburban areas are not regularised.

Also Read: Land grab law: Western Ghats to lose last layer of protection

The Bill intends to help farmers facing criminal proceedings for unauthorised cultivation on government land in rural areas. Apparently, farmers across the state are 'harassed' as they need to appear before the land grabbing court in Bengaluru.

But, lawmakers said the proposed amendment was rife for misuse.

"Under the garb of protecting farmers, my suspicion is that the Bill will give a green chit (sic) to land grabbers," JD(S) MLA AT Ramaswamy, who is considered an authority on land matters, said. "The law wasn't needed in the first place. You needn't have booked cases against farmers. For, farmers merely encroach land. Grabbing happens when people create fake documents to claim ownership of government land," he said.

He pointed out that the Bill, in its present form, leaves out areas outside the BBMP limits where realty prices are soaring. "What about Devanahalli, Nelamangala, Hoskote, Bidadi, Anekal...will you leave them out? That's where the real estate mafia is," he said, asking the government to place the Bill on hold.

Also Read: An amendment to protect land mafia

Deputy Leader of the Opposition UT Khader had similar concerns. "We need clarity on who a farmer is. The Bill shouldn't become a safeguard for those masquerading as farmers to encroach government land," he said.

Khader and senior MLA RV Deshpande both said the Bill does not include urban local bodies such as municipalities.

Intervening, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai admitted that the Bill needed an amdnement.

"We will define land to cover an 18-km radius from the BBMP limits, 10-km radius of city corporations, 5-km from city municipal council and 3-km from town municipal council. This will address concerns land encroachments on the outskirts of urban areas will be regularised," Bommai said.