NEWS : The Karnataka government has proposed regularisation of properties in capital city Bengaluru by issuing legal documents — khatas — and property identification numbers (PID) to owners

WHAT IS ‘A’ KHATA AND ‘B’ KHATA?

• Currently, there are two types of properties — ‘A’ Khata and ‘B’ Khata
• ‘A’ khata properties are those with genuine documents and are verified by state agencies. The ‘A’ khata document was issued to property owners till 2008
• In 2008, the BBMP stopped issuing ‘A’ khata to properties which were in violation of bylaws. Instead, it began maintaining a ‘B’ register, which came to list ‘B’ khata properties
• ‘B’ khata properties have anomalies in documentation. The list also includes properties in violation of bylaws, and buildings constructed without building plan approval. There are over six lakh ‘B’ khata properties in Bengaluru, which include unauthorised layouts on revenue land
• The ‘B’ khata register has helped the civic body collect property tax from the owners
• ‘B’ Khata property owners can neither avail bank loans, nor get occupancy/completion certificates from the BBMP
• The Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by former IAS T M Vijay Bhaskar recommended the conversion of ‘B’ khata to ‘A’ khata

BENEFITS OF REGULARIZATION

The BBMP in its 2022-23 budget projected a total revenue collection of Rs 10,484.28 crore. It estimated that it would collect Rs 3,107 crore from property tax. And, Rs 1,000 crore from the ‘B’ khata to ‘A’ khata regularisation scheme