Unauthorised small dwellings to be regularised for Rs 10k penalty

The Karnataka Cabinet on Wednesday approved a flat Rs 10,000 penalty for regularising unauthorised dwelling houses built on plots measuring up to 30/40 sq ft on government land within certain limits of urban local bodies, including Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The regularisation scheme will be implemented under section 94cc of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act and covers  all urban local bodies (ULBs).

Under the scheme, illegally built houses on plots measuring not more than 20/30 sq ft will be regularised. Houses built on plots measuring up to 30/40 sq ft on government land in the buffer zones around ULB limits will also be regularised, Law Minister T B Jayachandra told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. The penalty for SC/ST and ex-servicemen is Rs 5,000. The government has already received applications for regularisation. The applications will be processed in the coming days. The scheme will mainly benefit slum dwellers, he added.

Provisions
In Bengaluru, the scheme provides for regularisation of houses built on government land within 18 km of the BBMP limits. Other than BengaIuru, it is within 10 km of corporation limits, within five km of city municipal council limits and within three km of town municipal council and town panchayat limits, he added. The scheme was conceived by the previous BJP government in 2009.

But then governor H R Bhardwaj had opposed it, saying the scheme was against the rule of law. He had also refused assent to an amendment bill passed by the legislature in this regard. Subsequently, the Congress government pursued the bill and finally managed to get the assent of the Governor. The government also substantially reduced the penalty over the years.