BDA to Crack Whip on Owners Over Land-Use Violation

BDA commissioner directs town planning dept officials to evaluate land-use violations with respect to mobile phone towers

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is all set to crack the whip against house owners who have rented out their terraces for mobile towers without obtaining conversion certificates for commercial activities.

                                                                                                                                             

This is the first time that some authority is making an effort to rein in the multi-crore mobile-towers’ business in the city. Though there is no specific data on the number of mobile towers across the city, telecom industry sources maintain that there are around 1.25 lakh towers (each weighing anywhere between 3-10 tons) and a majority of these are located in residential areas.

This is in contravention to the BDA rules which mandate house owners to take permission from the BDA to change of land use from residential to commercial if towers are to be installed on their land.

BDA Commissioner T Sham Bhatt issued a directive to town planning department officials to evaluate the land-use violations with respect to mobile phone towers and submit a detailed report.

The commissioner’s directive states: “BDA has been allotting sites to people for residential purposes in various layouts across the city. However, there have been complaints that the beneficiaries have been diverting the same sites for commercial activities like setting up of mobile towers without obtaining land conversion certificate from the jurisdictional development authority. People have also complained about serious ill effects caused by such towers. Hence, I direct all the engineer members of BDA to conduct a detailed inquiry into the issue.”

While BBMP’s control was only to collect various taxes from these layouts, the BDA has retained powers of granting land utilisation and conversion licenses. But in several cases many people appear to be ignorant of these facts and have allowed companies to set up towers atop their houses.

Some RTI activists stated that the BDA (Allotment of Sites) Rules, 1984, clearly say that land in these layouts is allotted only for residential purposes and should not be diverted to commercial activities. Despite these provisions in the act, several site and house owners, without obtaining land conversion certificates from BDA have gone ahead and rented their premises to cellular companies to erect towers.

Despite these gross violations by buildings owners, BDA officials have failed to act. Further, these owners are hardly aware of the health hazards caused by these towers. The concrete roof of any RCC building would be just six inches thick and cannot withstand such huge loads, when you factor in the constant vibration of generator units placed at the foot of these towers. Some towers are placed on buildings more than 25years old. What if these buildings succumb to these constant vibrations?”

According to vaastu beliefs, a house owner gains wealth if he places a heavy object at the south-west. Hence many construct a single room or an over-head water tank in that direction.

Financial Bridges

Bridge loans are designed to meet needs for the interim period, between sale of an existing house and purchase of a new one.

Apart from offering regular new housing loans, financial institutions offer the facility of bridge loans too.

The interest rates for bridge loans are higher than the normal long-term loans since the duration of bridge loans are shorter.

Home bridge loans are specially designed to meet such requirements for the interim period between sale of the existing house and purchase of a new one. The HFI will lend approximately 80 per cent of the value of the new property.

The compulsion of arranging the immediate substantial payment to the builder was the deciding factor for the choice of loan. And the couple opted for a bridge loan from a housing finance institution.

This is useful when you do not want to take a long-term home loan. It gives you enough time to sell your existing property and make payment for the new house and also pay off the loan quickly.

How to go about it

The loan will be sanctioned only upon entering into a formal sale agreement with the builder of the new house. The documentation process will be similar to that of taking a loan on a new house/flat but the duration of the loan will have to be defined, which usually will be for a period of two years. The interest rates for these types of loans are higher than the normal long-term loans since the duration of bridge loans are shorter.

BDA to Develop Lakes in Bangalore

Unable to take up the development and restoration of lakes within its limits, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to hand them over to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

The BBMP has identified 183 live lakes in its limits. They cover an area of approximately 7,209 acres. The civic body had taken up development works in 132 lakes covering 5,382 acres. The BBMP commissioner had on August 19, 2011 written to the state government requesting it to take over the development of the lakes through the BDA, as it is unable carry out the required works on a regular basis. As per an order issued by the urban development department on January 25 this year, the BBMP is to hand over 78 lakes to the BDA. However, it will be the responsibility of the BBMP and the state government to earmark a certain amount for the development of the lakes.

A senior BDA official said, “The lakes have been handed over to the BDA. Soon, we will prepare an action plan after preparing a detailed project report. The first task before us is to remove the encroachments.”

Rejuvenate the lakes

On February 11, 1988, the L Lakshmanrao Committee had recommended that the state government take up development works around lakes. Among other things, silt should be removed, it said. The committee had recommended it not to hand over the lake or the surrounding land to any organisation. It is the responsibility of the revenue department to keep the lakes free of encroachments with the help of the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force. The committee had also said that sewage water should not enter the lakes during rejuvenation work.

BDA to Develop Layouts with Infrastructure

The Karnataka government said that BDA would in future allot sites only after providing all
infrastructure facilities.

It was complained to the government that BDA layouts lack of facilities in the 12 newly formed layouts.

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar recently said that the 12 new layouts formed by the Bangalore Development Authority(BDA) would get all infrastructure facilities by December 2014. “We will set a new trend. We will develop the layouts first and distribute  he sites later,” he added.

The CM assured that the government would provide all infrastructure facilities by December 2014 to the 12 new layouts - Banashakari 6th stage layout, Banashankari 6th stage continued layout, Anjanapura Layout, Anjanapura continued Layout, JP Nagar 8th Stage Layout, Sir MV Layout, Sir MV Continued Layout, Arkavathi Layout, Nagarabhavi Layout, Chandra Layout and Jnanabharathi Layout.

He said had government had already spent Rs 1,895 crore for providing basic facilities in these areas and 50% of the work had already been completed. Applications would be invited for Kempegowda layout in 2013. Shivarama Karanth Layout. The final notification is ready for acquiring land for the formation of Kempegowda layout.

Developer Needs 34 Clearances to Complete Project

High stamp duties and difficulties in land acquisition are some other issues, which need to be addressed.


Delays in project clearances have helped property prices to increase by 40 percent in India. Usually, to start a new project, 34 procedures are required to obtain clearance which takes an average time of six months.

According to the Economic Survey 2013, “India’s housing and real estate sector faces many challenges. There are 34 procedures and the average time taken is 196 days, which increases the sale value by 40 per cent,” according to the Economic Survey for 2012-13.

Quoting the latest World Bank report, the survey stated that in terms of housing, India is one among the top countries but when it comes to project clearances, it ranks 182nd.

Rapid increase in land prices, absence of a long-term funding and lending market at fixed rates, limited developer finance, the Urban Land Ceiling Regulations Act (ULCRA) continuing in some states, existing lower floor area ratio in cities, high stamp duties and difficulties in land acquisition are some other issues, which need to be addressed, said the
survey.

In India’s total GDP, the real estate sector and the housing sector contribute a share of 5.9 percent and have seen growth of 7.2 percent in the year 2011-12.

The survey also said that property prices have become reasonable during the current financial year.
“As per the National Housing Bank RESIDEX index for the quarter July-September 2012 compared to April-June 2012 (covering 20 cities, with 2007 as base year), there is a general decline in prices of residential properties in some smaller towns, while the increase in other cities is mostly marginal,” the survey added, reports . With the increase in urbanization, the demands for housing in cities have been increasing over the years.

Guidelines for Renting Out a House

A home is not only place for dwelling but also a source of income. 

Many people invest in property as it provides good income. Renting a home is one of the successful real estate businesses. In City like Bangalore, several people construct houses for earning rent. A landlord would earn better income if he or she built a house suitable for giving rent.

If you are a landlord and wants to rent your home, here are some guidelines to choose tenant for your property.

Screen your tenant : Let your property after screening tenant and never rent your property to person having criminal background. For screening your tenant, ask for proof of identity such as their copy driving license, letter from employer, credit history etc. You can ask any references or previous landlord’s contact detail.

Rental agreement : Make a rental agreement in written where you and tenant need to sign them. Rental agreement must contains all details such as amount received as deposit, monthly rental, period of rental agreement and condition or property or appliance such as detail of number of fan, lighting and fixtures and other appliances provided. Copy of rental agreement should be handover to tenant.

Allow tenant privacy : Landlord must not interfere in tenant’s matters that generally annoy them. Allow them to enjoy their own privacy in rented property and let your tenant notice when you access to the property.

Realtor or agent : If you are hiring a realtor or agent, specify the terms and condition, type of tenant you are looking for like renting property as PG, only for family, for Men or women etc. This helps your agent to search prospective tenant for your property.

Fair Rent : Rent for your property should be fair rate and current market rate. To fix rent for your property, make research in market and discuss with realtors in your neighborhood. Fair and cheap rate attracts most of tenant and help you to get good income from your property.

Repair and Maintenance : The building need to be repaired and maintained at regular interval. Offer your tenant a descent living by repairing and maintaining your property in prompt time. Prompt repair and maintenance help to build good and friendly relation with your tenant.

Secured Deposit : Landlord accepts deposits for ensuring reimburse on loss or damage caused by tenant. Landlord should return the security deposit and give in written details of deduction if any. It will be simple if you setup a fair system of collecting, and returning the deposits.

Cleanliness : Provide proper waste management for your house and its surrounding. Ask your tenant to dispose waste or method you adopt for handling wastes to garbage collectors. Keep your property and its surrounding clean.

Insure your property : Insure your property and ensure you get best from insuring your property against fire, theft, and damage made by tenant or from other natural calamities.

Right and Duties : Know your rights and duties as a landlord and explain the rights and duties of tenant. Remember to settle disputes without lawyers and lawsuits. If required consider neutral third party for resolving the disputes.

Sufficient land left in Arkavathy Layout: BDA

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has claimed that it has sufficient land left in the Arkavathy Layout to hand over sites to all the 8,813 allottees.


BDA Commissioner T Sham Bhat said BDA is not denotifying any land in Arkavathy Layout. But we are leaving 285 acres of land that falls under the six parameters that are mentioned by the Supreme Court while delivering its judgment on acquiring the land for the layout.

“We will have sufficient land to give sites to all allottees and form some civic amenities sites even after leaving 285 acres of land and giving sites that we are supposed to give to the land owners (who gave up their lands for the layout),” the commissioner said.

The six parameters that the Supreme Court has directed the BDA to consider while acquiring the land for the layout are - the lands that fall within the green belt area, the lands that are surrounded by fully built-up area, lands belonging to charitable, educational and religious institutions, the lands that are used as nurseries, lands on which factories are established and lands similar to the lands that are denotified earlier.

Arkavathy Layout Allottees Association President G Shivaprakash said “many times, the BDA has gone back on its promises and has lost its credibility. According to the information that we have received, the BDA will find it difficult to hand over sites to all the allottees if it follows all the bylaws. Therefore, we have filed 95 writ of mandamus petitions before the High Court seeking the court’s intervention and they are pending for admission. We will not trust the BDA until it hands over our sites to us.”

The State government had notified 2,750 acres of land to form Arkavathy Layout to allot 20,000 sites to the aspiring applicants in 2003. The BDA had invited applications for sites and allotted 8,813 sites in 2004.

The land owners, who opposed acquisition, approached courts challenging the process by the BDA.

The subsequent governments denotified around 1,000 acres of the land. Despite Supreme Court passing its verdict in favour of the acquisition with certain riders in favour of the land owners, the land owners did not agree to part with their lands. Therefore, the BDA held discussions with them and agreed to give 40 per cent of the developed land to them as compensation for the lands that would be acquired for the layout. Due to these reasons, the BDA has just about enough land to hand over sites to the allottees in the layout.

The BDA is left with around 1,100 acres of land after leaving 285 acres. The BDA has to form the layout and allot sites to all allottees after giving 40 per cent of the developed land to the allottees.

BDA sites in limbo

At least 57 plots developed by the BDA are in a limbo as their titles have allegedly been snatched from the owners in Sir M Visvesvaraya Layout, western Bangalore.

The BDA denotified a 10-acre plot of land and conferred the ownership on two individuals. The land is described as “muffet kaval” (free forest land, but something akin to grazing land), meaning government owned. But the denotification ended up vesting the ownership with the two individuals.

BDA sources said the denotification committee of the BDA board had rejected the application for denotification of the land in 2006, stating that it was required for the layout.

The BDA allegedly kept the site owners in the dark about the fate of their titles. Five of the affected site owners have now approached the Karnataka High Court. They say they were sold the plots during 2003-05. After this, the BDA demanded, and received, tax from most owners.

The site owners then heard rumours that attempts were being made to sell their sites. A couple of them, posing as prospective buyers, contacted brokers operating in the area. They were taken to their own sites and told a 50x80 site would cost no less than Rs 1 crore.

In February, a site owner filed RTI applications with the BDA. Documents obtained a few days ago revealed that the BDA had denotified 7 acres in favour of KV Nagarathnamma on June 20, 2006, and 3 acres in favour of Purohit Jugaraj in September 2007.

The Karnataka high court has issued notices to the government, BDA and the two beneficiaries of the land denotification.