The Hindu 29.01.2014
BBMP unlocks Rs. 200 cr. from land use conversion applicants
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council on Tuesday approved collection of betterment charges from owners of revenue properties that have been used for non-agriculture purposes. According to the resolution passed by the council, property owners whose land has been converted and those whose properties have been denotified by the Bangalore Development Authority, Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, Karnataka Housing Board and other government agencies may also pay the betterment charge and get ‘A’ khata if it is converted for non-agricultural purposes.
The move comes as a major relief to such property owners, as they can get not just an ‘A’ khata, but also building plan approval from the BBMP.
The charge has been linked to expenditure incurred on providing basic amenities, sources said. The civic body has fixed the betterment charge at Rs. 350 per square metre (sqm) for properties measuring up to 1,000 sqm. For the rest, the amount is Rs. 300 per sqm.
Sources in the BBMP’s revenue department said that the civic body expects to net Rs. 200 crore from people who have already got the pattern of land use converted to non-agriculture purpose. Property owners may choose to pay the one-time betterment charge in four instalments, but will incur interest of 1.5 per cent per month.
It may be recalled that the BBMP had earlier fixed the charges in different slabs. But the move was challenged in the High Court by citizens. The court directed the BBMP to constitute a committee to fix a uniform fee scientifically. When the uniform fee fixed by the committee was deemed to be too high, the court directed the committee to fix betterment charges commensurate with the expenditure incurred on providing basic amenities.
Fixes
fee for using revenue properties for non-agriculture purposes and paves
way for land owners to secure building plan approval.
