Land conversion beyond the law

 DC approval not required for conversion of agricultural land in urban areas: Act

Land conversion beyond the law

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ 

Bengaluru: Agricultural land has been being converted for non-agricultural use from a year, violating the government law that does not require land conversion within urban areas.

The 'invisible hands' are working to prevent the implementation of the government law by hiding it. Thus, the District Commissioner is accepting applications from land owners for land conversion. Landowners are being unnecessarily burdened by paying lakhs of rupees in fees.

The permission of the District Commissioner is not required to use agricultural land within the 'Master Plan' for non-agricultural needs. The government had issued an order in 2023 that it would be sufficient to pay the required fee along with a prescribed self-declaration while obtaining the construction plan from the concerned urban planning authority. However, the District Commissioner is not following this.

To simplify the land conversion process in urban areas, the state government has amended the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 and issued a notification on July 27, 2023, with the approval of the Governor. 

Section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 has been amended, and if the land used for agriculture or other purposes is included in the ‘Master Plan’ as per the Karnataka Town and Countryside (KTCP) Act, 1961, then the land conversion process by the District Collector is not required. It has been informed that the holders of such land should pay the necessary fee to the Town Planning Authority. 

An application should be submitted to the District commissioner for conversion of land or agricultural land that is outside the jurisdiction of the local planning authority and not published in the master plan. The District Commissioner can convert it after obtaining the approval of the concerned planning authority and paying the fee. If there is no response from the Planning Authority within 15 days, it shall be deemed as approval.

If the District Collector does not approve the land conversion application within 30 days of its submission, it shall be deemed as ‘conversion approved’. The Act clearly states that the District Collector shall approve it immediately after payment of the prescribed fee.

‘No rules have been formulated’

“The Karnataka Land Revenue Act has been amended and a notification has been issued. However, the necessary rules have not been formulated yet. Therefore, BBMP and BDA are unable to collect fees and give the necessary approval for such unconverted land. Some district commissioners are obstructing the formulation of rules,” said a Revenue Department official who did not want to be named.

‘The amendment to the law has been brought at the insistence of Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda. The opinion of the state’s district commissioner has been obtained and it has been tabled in the legislature and notified. However, some people have obstructed its implementation.

‘Government is cheating citizens’

‘The government has said that the law has been amended to simplify land conversion in urban areas and to avoid the inconvenience and office wandering of citizens. However, they are cheating by not implementing it,” complained Padmanabhar Reddy, a former leader of the BBMP ruling party.

“The District commissioner is illegally converting land, and the Revenue Minister is aware of this, but he is silent. Action should be taken immediately to implement the law,” he demanded.

“The agricultural land under the jurisdiction of the 110 villages, including the municipalities and town panchayats that have come under the jurisdiction of the BBMP, does not need to be converted. However, they are being given B-khata and creating problems. In addition, the revenue that the BDA and BBMP could have received has also been hindered,” he said.