Karnataka CM Slashes Section 38B Property Regularisation Charges By 50

Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar has slashed Section 38B property regularisation fees by 50 percent, offering relief to nearly one lakh property owners and helping them secure legal ownership documents for homes built on land acquired before 2008.

Karnataka Reduces Section 38B Regularisation Charges

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday announced a 50 per cent reduction in the charges under Section 38B for regularisation of properties built on land acquired by the government before 2008, saying the move would provide relief to nearly one lakh property owners and enable them to secure ownership documents. Addressing media persons on the occasion of Diwali, Shivakumar said the government had revisited the existing guidelines after finding that only around 600 people had applied under the earlier provision, despite an opportunity being extended to nearly one lakh property owners.

He said, "38B, in 2021, a law, for those who built houses on land acquired before 2008 (20 years), the previous government had given an opportunity to one lakh property owners. As per guidelines 20-30, 10%, many types were made in the calculation. In that, only 600 people applied. So I thought, let us give one opportunity." Explaining the decision, Shivakumar said the charges under the revised guidelines had been reduced by 50 per cent, allowing eligible property owners to obtain documents by paying the reduced amount. "That means it has been reduced by 50%. By paying that, documents can be made strong; there is an opportunity to guarantee your property and become landowners," he said.

Legal Compliance and Land Recovery

He further said the issue required attention as a court order had directed the authorities to take back government land, making legal action inevitable. He said he had discussed the matter with officials, adding that nearly one lakh houses were covered by the issue. "So legal action is inevitable. There is an order to take back one lakh houses. For that I have discussed with officials. The owners of those one lakh houses cannot sell their land, they are not owners," he said.

BDA Initiatives for Citizen Grievances

On the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA), Shivakumar praised its Chairman Harris for introducing regular public interactions to address citizens' grievances and resolve issues at the zonal level. He said, "After Harris became BDA Chairman, every week, every two weeks, calling each zone, listening to problems and resolving them, conducting open house meetings, he has created a new chapter." He added that the initiative had been organised to ensure that people did not have to make repeated visits to government offices to get their grievances addressed. "Such a programme has been organised so that people should not wander around," he said.

Noting that the BDA had completed 50 years, Shivakumar said the authority was exploring new ideas to make Bengaluru a better-planned city and transform the organisation into a more citizen-friendly institution. "BDA has completed 50 years. We are thinking of new ideas. We are discussing making Bengaluru a more planned city. The thought is to make BDA a people-friendly BDA," he said. He also described the initiative to invite farmers and resolve their pending grievances as historic, saying efforts were being made to ensure that they did not have to run from one office to another. "Calling farmers and resolving their problems so that no one has to wander around is historic," he said.

Acknowledging that all issues could not be resolved immediately, Shivakumar said several documents that had remained pending for years had been handed over to beneficiaries. "Everything cannot be built in a single day, but documents pending for many years have been given. We will celebrate 50 years. Before doing that, we should wish people well, it should be convenient," he said. Earlier, referring to the delay in his meeting, Shivakumar apologised to the media and said, "Meeting got delayed, sorry, our leader Siddaramaiah had gone to meet." The Chief Minister reiterated that the government's focus was on making public institutions more accessible and ensuring that citizens, particularly property owners and farmers, received timely relief. (ANI)

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