BBMP, Bescom lock horns over use of OFC duct
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Time of India
14 hours ago
- Time of India
Bengaluru's e-khata drive exposes Rs 390-crore tax evasion by 5 lakh properties
Bengaluru: The verification process for e-khata submissions in Bengaluru has exposed large-scale property tax evasion, with nearly five lakh properties found to have misreported their details. Many of these properties remained outside the tax radar, either by under-declaring their built-up area or paying residential tax on commercial spaces. As a result, BBMP has already recovered Rs 500 crore in pending dues and expects another Rs 500 crore in additional collections. Launched on Oct 1, 2024, the e-khata system was introduced to curb tax evasion and bring transparency to property records. In just nine months, over 5.5 lakh final e-khatas were issued, while draft e-khatas for 25 lakh properties are now available online. The BBMP made it mandatory for every property under its jurisdiction to obtain an e-khata. Owners applying for one are required to submit documents such as Aadhaar number, sale deed, property tax ID, Bescom number, and a photo of the property. This process is allowing the civic body to verify the actual dimensions and usage of properties and identify discrepancies in earlier self-assessments. Munish Moudgil, special commissioner, revenue, BBMP, said, "We found a large number of owners declared lower dimensions or paid residential taxes for commercial properties. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If you have a mouse, play this game for 1 minute Navy Quest Undo We already recovered Rs 500 crore and expect more as the verification continues." You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru A senior revenue official said, "The new digital system revealed these evasions, particularly in high-value commercial areas such as IT parks and malls. Many properties slipped through the tax net altogether, contributing to a significant loss in civic revenue." Despite having 25 lakh properties listed, BBMP currently collects taxes from only about 20 lakh of them. "In the financial year 2024-25, of about 20.6 lakh property owners under BBMP's ambit, almost 3.5 lakh failed to pay their taxes. This group includes close to 1.7 lakh long-term defaulters and 1.8 lakh, who skipped payments last year. In total, they owe Rs 390 crore," said the official. "So far in 2025-26, BBMP has collected Rs 2,966 crore in property tax, as against a target of Rs 6,256 crore. We believe that the e-khata verification process could contribute an additional Rs 1,000 crore in the coming months by identifying under-reported properties and ensuring their proper tax classification," the official further said.
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Time of India
Karnataka's new land regularisation policy to free up thousands of acres for development
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has approved a regulation to legalise properties that lacked fully compliant ownership records or are unregistered in Bengaluru, a decision that is expected to unlock vast land parcels in the city's peripheral move is projected to free up thousands of acres, curtail illegal land sales and ease an acute land supply shortage plaguing India's tech capital, developers and industry bodies said. On other hand, some urban planners and civic activists raised concerns about the possibility of misuse of the policy while also warning that many of these sites are in ecologically sensitive regulation, passed by the state cabinet and notified this week, will allow properties in 110 village areas that were added to the Bengaluru municipal corporation limits to convert to A-Khata, which certifies that a property is fully compliant with all regulations and has clear ownership titles. These properties previously had B-Khatas.B-Khata was being issued by BBMP for irregular plots or properties since 2009. The process of issuing. It was stopped on 30th September 2024.'It is learnt that it has been decided that if this B-Khata was issued on the basis of government circulars, it can be considered as A-Khata. Otherwise, it can be considered as a proper Khata andconsidered as authentic for legal purposes,' mentioned the properties include revenue sites, gram panchayat-approved layouts and properties with incomplete documentation, many of which have existed in legal limbo for over two insiders said the regulation will unlock a substantial stock of urban land that was previously unutilised due to legal uncertainty, potentially easing the pressure on Bengaluru's real estate market. It will also curb the rampant sale of unapproved small plots and unauthorised subdivisions, which have long undermined urban planning on the city's outskirts, they said. Land prices have doubled in the city in the last four years due to a shortage of properties with clear the new framework, property owners can apply for regularisation through a self-declaration scheme by paying a one-time penalty and complying with basic conditions. Crucially, once regularised, these properties will be eligible for A-Khata certificates, making them legally recognised and fit for sale, construction and civic to experts, with more than 1.5 million properties estimated to fall under this scheme, the municipal corporation, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), is expected to receive a major boost in property tax revenue , estimated to be by Rs 1,200-1,500 crore annually.'This is a win-win. The government earns revenue, the owners get legal recognition, and the city gets a chance to plan better,' said Madhusudhan G, chairman and managing director at real estate developer Sumadhura Group. 'It also brings a sense of confidence for institutional investors and banks that were earlier wary of land in peripheral areas.'The decision comes at a time when Bengaluru is grappling with a shortage of legally clean land parcels for residential and industrial to developers, many large players had stayed away from B-Khata zones due to lack of title clarity, resulting in reduced supply and surging prices in approved layouts.'This will partially solve the land crunch we are facing in the market. With title risk removed, the city will see a wider canvas for development,' said Mallanna Sasalu, chief executive – South at real estate firm Puravankara . 'We will also see greater compliance going forward. This will stop indiscriminate cutting and selling of plots before the infrastructure catches up,' he estimate that land prices in regularised areas could rise by 15–25% in the next 12 months, as demand picks up and formal financing becomes accessible to both developers and end new law also seeks to plug the loopholes that enabled unregulated growth in building the regularisation window closes, no new property in the BBMP limits can be sold without a proper Khata or layout approval. Officials said this would discourage fragmented land sales, prevent violations near lakes and drains, and pave the way for stricter planning planners and civic activists said the policy must be carefully implemented to avoid its misuse.'There are valid fears about over-regularisation. Many of these sites are located in ecologically sensitive areas. If regularised blindly, it could lead to environmental degradation,' said an urban governance experts said the state is now acknowledging the de facto urbanisation that has already happened and offering a formal pathway forward. If implemented transparently and tied to robust zoning enforcement, the reform could become a model for other fast-growing Indian cities battling unregulated sprawl.
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Proposal to split BBMP into five corporations sent to Governor for approval
The proposal to split Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) into five corporations was sent to the Governor for his approval on Friday. The draft of the proposed boundaries of five corporations was discussed in the Cabinet meeting on Thursday and it was decided to send it for the Governor's approval, sources said. Facing multiple legal challenges to the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024 in the High Court of Karnataka, the State government is being cautious moving ahead, sources said. As the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) area was notified with the Governor's approval, it was felt that it was better to notify the draft of the proposed five corporations also after his approval, sources added. The BBMP will notify the boundaries of the proposed five corporations shortly after the Governor approves it and will call for public objections, sources said. The Brand Bengaluru Committee had recently given a report proposing that the city's civic limits be split into five corporations — Central, North, East, West and South. The proposed boundaries have been drawn up with balance in revenue generation and taking care to cut the least number of Assembly constituencies into multiple corporations as the guiding principle. Sources said the five corporations have been drawn up in such a manner that the maximum difference between the estimated revenue between these corporations is not more than ₹100 Crore. A maximum of five Assembly constituencies are cut up into different corporations. However, this has meant that the corporations have a large variance in their size and population.
