In a major relief for property owners in Bengaluru, the Greater Bengaluru Authority on Wednesday reduced the fee for converting B-khata properties into A-khata from 5% to 2% of the guidance value under the Karnataka government’s newly launched Bhu Guarantee scheme.
The decision is expected to benefit nearly seven lakh property owners whose holdings are currently listed under the ‘B’ category in the civic authority’s records. However, officials did not specify the estimated revenue impact resulting from the reduced conversion charges.
Govt Calls It Congress’s ‘Sixth Guarantee’
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the initiative forms part of the Congress government’s ‘My Khata, My Right’ campaign and described it as the party’s sixth guarantee for the people of Karnataka.
The programme aims to provide e-khatas directly to residents while simplifying property documentation through digitisation.
As part of the initiative, the government will launch an ‘E-khata Open House’ campaign from May 16. Special camps will be organised every Saturday for the next three months across 52 locations under the city’s five municipal corporations. These camps will help residents with services such as fresh e-khata registrations, B-khata to A-khata conversions and grievance redressal.
No Clarity On Refunds For Earlier Applicants
Despite the fee reduction, the government has not clarified whether property owners who had already paid the earlier 5% conversion fee will receive refunds or any form of compensation.
Officials said the Bhu Guarantee initiative is part of a broader effort to digitise property records and issue more than 23 lakh e-khatas across Bengaluru.
The scheme also aims to improve transparency through drone surveys and GIS-based mapping of properties.
Relief Expected For Thousands Of Property Owners
Shivakumar said the three-month drive is expected to help lakhs of residents regularise their properties and gain access to legal and financial services that are often unavailable to B-khata holders.
Highlighting the difficulties faced by such property owners, he said many residents had constructed homes without approved building plans and were now struggling to sell their properties or obtain bank loans. He said the government’s objective was to ease the difficulties faced by nearly seven lakh B-khata property owners across Bengaluru.
According to official estimates, Bengaluru currently has around 16 lakh A-khata properties and nearly seven lakh B-khata properties.
The deputy chief minister also revealed that authorities had received around 11,000 applications seeking property regularisation. Of these, nearly 7,000 properties have already been regularised after payment of the earlier 5% conversion fee.
Other Key Announcements Made By The Govt
Relaxation In Building Violation Limits
The permissible limit for building violations has now been increased from 5% to 15%, a move expected to help more property owners qualify for regularisation by paying penalties.
Officials said this would also resolve long-standing issues where minor construction deviations prevented homeowners from obtaining occupancy certificates and utility connections.
Sites To Be Distributed In Shivarama Karanth Layout
The government also announced that 18,000 sites will be distributed to landowners in the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout Shivarama Karanth Layout project.
Site allotments will begin from May 15. Authorities said 3,052 farmers had earlier surrendered their land for the development of the layout.
BDA To Sell 1,900 Houses In Whitefield
Additionally, the Bangalore Development Authority will put 1,900 newly constructed houses in Whitefield up for sale from May 15.
Officials said a 3BHK house measuring 1,733 sq ft will be priced at around Rs 1.4 crore, calculated at approximately Rs 8,309 per sq ft.
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