Karnataka to amend law allowing land conversion within 3 days

The Karnataka government on Saturday said it will amend the existing law to allow farmlands to be converted for non-agricultural use within three days based on a self-declaration, in what promises to be a major reform aimed at agricultural landholders.

Section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act will be changed to make conversion of land easier, Revenue Minister R Ashoka said.

“There are major hurdles in converting agricultural land for non-agricultural use. One application has to go to several departments before reaching the deputy commissioner. It takes 6-8 months in Bengaluru and more than a year in other places,” Ashoka said, explaining the current system.

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“We are now bringing in affidavit-based conversion. An agricultural land owner will be able to put the land to any non-agricultural use by giving a self-declaration, which should be as per the approved master plan of an area,” Ashoka said, adding that conversion orders will be given within three days.

“If a particular area is marked as a green zone in the master plan, then the conversion can’t be done,” Ashoka pointed out.

Conversion of agricultural lands for non-agricultural purposes - residential, industrial, commercial and so on - requires an order issued by the deputy commissioner. However, bureaucracy has led to allegations of corruption and harassment in this process.

In case the master plan has not yet been published for an area, then the conversion order will be issued based on the self-declaration subject to the condition that the non-agricultural use should be approved from the relevant authorities as per the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act.

“If it is a granted land, then the applicant should declare that the conversion sought is not in violation of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, other terms and conditions of the grant,” Ashoka said.

The minister clarified that persons holding General Powers of Attorney (GPA) cannot seek conversion of agricultural land. “Only landowners can do it,” he said.

Ashoka said this reform will help curb the formation of unauthorized properties known as revenue sites. “Deputy commissioners have all the information with them. Still, citizens are made to run around. This conversion menace is why there are 20-30 lakh revenue sites in the state,” he said.

Under the new system, conversion orders will be cancelled and the fee paid automatically forfeited if any violation in the self-declaration is found, Ashoka said.

Further, the government is planning to link conversion fees with guidance value, doing away with the current setup. “You can’t have the same conversion fee in Bidar and Bengaluru. The conversion fee in Bidar, for instance, is Rs 1 lakh whereas the guidance value is Rs 5 lakh an acre. You can’t have the same fee in Bengaluru where land price is more,” Ashoka said.

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