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DISCIPLINE URBAN GROWTH BY LAW - SAVE BANGALORE
By M H AHSAN
The Karnataka High Court order quashing the ban on registration of
properties built on agriculture land does not offer comfort to all
those concerned about the orderly growth of Bangalore and other urban
areas. By a notification on April 23, 2005, the Revenue Department had
prohibited registration in cases where the plot is neither converted
for non-agricultural use nor does it have a building plan.
The notification itself was hailed as a determined move against the
land mafia, which successfully disfigured Bangalore by buying farm
land at throwaway prices, developing layouts and selling sites. In the
process, neither land conversion was done nor was a layout plan
approved. In many cases, the layouts thus formed were on revenue land,
gomal lands, and tank beds that were grabbed with the help of local
politicians and officials.
It is not all that well known that the lands that we 'own' and reside
in are subject to sovereignty of the government - the government is
the owner and we are all lessees. And that is what 'assessment and
collection of land revenue' signifies. The rulers from time immemorial
granted lands for purposes of cultivation and prescribed a land
revenue in return.
The arrangement was in vogue in the form of land revenue codes in
different regions. In 1964, the government of Mysore did away with
disparate codes and came up with a Land Revenue Act for the entire
state. Thus, the Act recognises that all lands are agricultural in
nature unless they are converted to non-farm use under Section 95 of
the Act. The Town and Country Planning Act was only a next logical
step of this Act, which requires any building activity on the lands
thus converted to conform to certain standards. But many unscrupulous
elements in the real estate business do not want to comply with these
Acts, and go for short cuts by bribing officials.
The result is there for all to see - Kamakshipalyas,Dasarahallis,
Sultanpalyas and thousands of slums in Bangalore. These came up not
because there were no laws to prevent them, but officials responsible
to enforce them either shut their eyes or collected bribes or did
both. Thus, the government lost crores of rupees it would have
otherwise earned in the form of conversion fees and layout approval
fees.
While an appeal against the court order is one option, that may not
bring about any lasting solution. Instead, the government would do
well to come up with a comprehensive law harmonising the regulatory
provisions of the Town & Country Planning Act, Municipalities Act,
Panchayat Raj Act and the Land Revenue Act, and removing any conflicts
therein. That is the need of the hour.
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