Mixed reactions to ban on land conversion

Mixed reactions to ban on land conversion

The Hindu

The ban has grounded the real-estate business and construction activity

Ban does not apply to properties falling under the BMP
Concern among people who wanted to buy revenue sites on the outskirts
More authority to BDA, BMRDA

BANGALORE: The Government's ban on conversion of revenue lands in and around Bangalore and the formation of housing layouts has evoked mixed reactions.

On April 23, the Government issued a notification stopping, with effect from May 6, the registration of the sale, gift, exchange, mortgage, agreement to sell, lease or assignment or assignment of sites, with or without buildings, formed on agricultural land which has not been converted for non-agricultural purposes under Section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964; what are called "gramathana" sites (Karnataka Municipality Act of 1964) but not actually converted as such; sites on revenue land described as gramathana site or a site with a building on it but whose layout plan has not been approved and a release certificate issued from a planning authority such as Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA), Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority (BIAAPA) and BMIC (Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor) Area Planning Authority and gramathana site on revenue land or other sites, flats, industrial sites, commercial sites without requisite permission.

However, the ban on registration does not apply to properties falling under the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, properties allotted by BDA, those in BDA approved layouts or other local planning authorities such as BMRDA, BIAAPA and BMIC Area Planning Authority. Thus, there is a general ban on conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes.

Some persons have welcomed the ban saying it will facilitate the orderly development of the city and curb land grabbing. Obviously, the ban cannot be expected to please those engaged in the development of layouts, who first emerged powerful in the mid-1970s, some of them owing to political patronage. It has caused concern among people who wanted to buy revenue sites and build houses because of the BDA's inability to meet the demand for sites.

The ban has no doubt given some more authority to the BDA and also brought into the picture the BMRDA. Earlier, the judgment of a single judge of the High Court had given a jolt to the BDA as it quashed the acquisition of land for the proposed Arkavathy Layout.

The ban on the formation of residential layouts around the city without the permission of the BDA and the BMRDA has grounded the real-estate business and construction activity. However, it is not the first time that the ban on conversion of revenue lands is being imposed. It has been resorted to more than once ever since the City Improvement Trust Board (now BDA) was formed in 1946. Already, the impact of the ban on the real-estate business and construction work can be seen at the sub-registrars' offices.

According to government sources, the BDA has a cash reserve of about Rs. 1,650 crores, including deposits collected from the applicants for the Arkavathy Layout (Rs. 950 crores). While the authority has started refunding the money to depositors, it will still have more than Rs. 500 crores, after deducting the initial expenditure on the layout formation and disbursement of salaries. But the question is whether troubled times are in store for the BDA.

As no land is available to form layouts within the area under the BDA's jurisdiction and as the High Court has questioned the authority of BDA to initiate land acquisition in areas outside its purview, it may not be possible for it to form layouts. However, this will leave the field open to private land developers.In a way, the BDA has come full circle. Bangaloreans have not forgotten that the authority lay dormant when unfettered land development by private groups was going on and they were forced to buy "revenue sites" and sites allotted by cooperative societies at high rates. Observers of BDA activities feel that the same situation will arise now as it will take quite a long time for the authority to set right the legal lapses made out by the court and formulate a clear policy.