Relief in sight for B Khata property owners as Karnataka govt mulls regularisation plan

In a major development that could impact lakhs of property owners, the Karnataka government is preparing special guidelines to provide basic utility connections like drinking water, electricity, and underground drainage to buildings without Occupancy Certificates (OC) and Commencement Certificates (CC), especially those classified under B Khata.

Also Read:Over 5.34 lakh properties covered under Karnataka’s e-khata digitisation drive

This move comes after the Supreme Court's December 17, 2024 order, which barred civic agencies from providing utility services to buildings lacking OC and CC. The directive, meant to curb unauthorized constructions, left millions of middle- and lower-income residents in distress, especially in urban areas like Bengaluru.

Due to this, BBMP, BDA, BESCOM, BWSSB, and other local bodies were instructed not to provide any connections to such buildings. However, BJP leader N R Ramesh intervened, submitting a formal appeal to the state government, highlighting the hardships faced by over 10 lakh building owners across various urban local bodies and suggesting steps to regularise the issue.

Ramesh’s proposal includes:

• Imposing fines on illegal constructions and setting a deadline to legalize them.
• Allowing plan approvals for B Khata properties upon collection of additional charges.
• Making approvals from local bodies mandatory for any new construction.
• Enforcing strict accountability for local officials in case of future violations.

The BJP leader also suggested consulting legal experts and formulating a temporary or fixed-time regularisation scheme, which could both reduce citizen distress and generate substantial revenue for municipal bodies.

Taking note of the seriousness, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has reportedly instructed his private secretary Dr. Rajendra Prasad and senior officials in the Urban Development Department to evaluate the suggestions and act accordingly. If approved, this initiative could finally bring long-awaited relief to B Khata property owners.