Kempegowda Layout: BDA delays collecting betterment tax; landowners left in limbo

Bengaluru: Prashanth S, who owns a piece of revenue land within the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout, has made several visits to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) office to pay betterment charges to obtain the khata.

However, each time, the BDA has turned him away without collecting the fees— a situation also faced by many others.

A Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report from March 2022 stated that a total of 610 acres of land — excluded from the acquisition process, but benefiting from the BDA’s layout project — is required to pay a betterment tax to receive the khata. Due to the BDA’s failure to collect this tax, residents are unable to conduct property transactions or secure bank loans for development.

The CAG report said the BDA could have generated approximately Rs 195 crore from these revenue sites through the betterment tax, which the government approved in February 2018, with a gazette notification issued in December 2022.

“The BDA did not take follow-up action,” the report stated.

Senior BDA officials explained that the collection of betterment tax was halted following orders from the Karnataka High Court regarding the acquisition of 500 acres of land designated for the Kempegowda Layout.

The court directed the acquisition process to be reviewed under five parameters. “The issue will be addressed in the upcoming board meeting,” an official said.

However, Prabhakar pointed out that the high court order does not apply to land excluded from the acquisition process. “The government has already issued a notification to collect betterment tax, listing property owners and land details. The BDA officials are simply uninterested,” he said.