Bangalore, August 2: The BJP government has proposed regularization of unauthorized constructions on government land in rural Karnataka. A similar version for Bangalore, BBMP's Akrama-Sakrama, has been stayed by the courts.
Deputy chief minister KS Eshwarappa, who heads the revenue department, tabled the bill -- Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2012 -- in the legislative council on Wednesday. The opposition criticized it as "an irrational move with too many flaws".
All unauthorized constructions before January 2012 on government land in the state, except in BBMP limits, city corporations, city municipal councils and town municipal councils, will be regularized once the bill is passed. It states that owners of multi-storeyed buildings should obtain a No-Objection Certificate from a structural engineer and fire services department to get their houses regularized.
Leader of the opposition SR Patil said: "The government is doing this with elections in mind. It'll only help land-grabbers and won't benefit poor people.''
JD(S) leader M C Nanaiah echoed Patil's sentiments and said vested interests would benefit the most. He referred to former IAS officer V Balasubramanian's report on encroachment of government lands and said the new move would only encourage more encroachment.
"The government had formed district level task forces headed by deputy commissioners to recover encroached lands. This bill defeats its own purpose,'' Nanaiah said. He asked the government to withhold the bill and prepare the list of encroachers first.
