Work in progress at the BDA’s newest residential project, Shivaram Karanth Layout.
Credit: DH Photo/ B K Janardhan
Bengaluru: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has set betterment charges for 5,171 properties in North Bengaluru, where its newest residential project, the Dr Shivaram Karanth Layout, has been developed.
The fees vary by village, ranging from Rs 43 to Rs 1,146 per square foot, with Kempapura and Ramagondanahalli facing significantly higher rates than 14 other villages.
These charges were approved at a BDA board meet in March and have since been ratified by the government. They apply to properties, primarily houses, that were regularised by the Justice AV Chandrashekar Committee, which supervised the implementation of the Karanth Layout.
Under Sections 20 and 21 of the BDA Act, the authority can impose a betterment tax on properties that were excluded from acquisition, but benefit from infrastructure development, such as housing. The BDA calculates the betterment fee based on the increase in property value before and after the project’s implementation.
For the Shivaram Karanth Layout, the BDA used guidance values from 2018 and 2024 to determine that one-third of the difference would constitute the betterment charge. This initiative is projected to generate between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 crore in revenue. For the commercial properties, the charges go up by 50 per cent.
Opposition
Residents of Ramagondanahalli, Kempapura and Doddabettahalli have voiced strong objections to the BDA’s method of calculating these charges.
Ramesh, a resident of Ramagondanahalli whose property was partially acquired for the layout, criticised the assessment, arguing that the charges nearly equal his property’s value.
“It was the gram panchayat that provided us with roads, sewer lines and other civic amenities. Why should we now pay betterment charges to the BDA?” he asked.
He also highlighted the inconsistency in the fees, noting that Harohalli and Avalahalli, which are closer to a major road, have lower charges than Ramagondanahalli and Kempapura, which are farther from the city.
Ramesh suggested that the BDA should impose a uniform and lower betterment charge across all villages, particularly since the compensation for land acquisition was the same for everyone.
“If the BDA has set a rate of Rs 4,900 per square foot for all sites in the Shivaram Karanth Layout, why are the betterment charges different?” he asked.
BDA Commissioner N Jayaram was unavailable for comment.