Bangalore : The Legislative Council on Tuesday passed a bill that seeks to regularise unauthorised residential houses constructed on the government land in urban areas.
Revenue Minister V Srinivas Prasad, who piloted the Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Bill, 2012, said the amendment to Section 94CC of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act empowers the State government to regularise the houses by framing rules and prescribing a fee. January 2012 is the cutoff date for regularisation, he added.
The minister agreed on a demand by the members that houses regularised under this scheme should not be allowed to be sold by the owners.
Besides, only houses that are built on plots measuring up to 20×30 sq feet will be regularised. However, dwelling houses located on natural drains, proposed roads, parks, playgrounds and open places will not be regularised, he added.
The Legislature had passed the bill in 2012 when the BJP was in power. But the then Governor H R Bhardwaj had sent it back for reconsideration, stating that it would directly encourage encroachment of government land by land grabbers.
Srinivas Prasad further said the government has now taken all precautionary measures to prevent misuse of the scheme and assured that only the poor will benefit.
The Council passed the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2014, for conducting caste census in the State.
Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya, who piloted the bill, said that the census will be taken up in November this year and will be completed in about six months.
Social and educational survey of all castes will be conducted under the census.
Earlier, C H Vijayshankar of the BJP said that economic status of people of all castes should also be surveyed so that the government can provide justice to the underdeveloped castes.
Information on the economic status will also help the government to plan its policies and schemes and ensure that benefits of its welfare schemes reach the needy, he said.
But H?M?Revanna and V?S?Ugrappa (both Congress) and Hulinayakar of JD(S) opposed the proposal.
Besides, the Karnataka Sakala Services (Amendment) Bill, 2014, which seeks to take disciplinary action against the officials who fail to provide services in the stipulated time, was passed in the Council.
The Legislative Assembly has already passed all these bills.
