The state government would bring an amendment to the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act by the month end to regularise unauthorised buildings, Revenue Minister R Ashoka said on Saturday.
"We had formed a committee of officials to bring an amendment to the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. The committee has now submitted its report," Ashoka told reporters.
Further, the amendment would be submitted to the Supreme Court, he added.
"We will bring amendment at the earliest, maybe by the end of this month, which people had been demanding for long to regularise their buildings," the Minister said.
The government had in the past tried to regularise buildings in Bengaluru by bringing in 'Akrama Sakrama' scheme, aimed at regularising unauthorised structures but it hit a legal roadblock when the Supreme Court stayed it.
This time the government is aiming to pass the amendment and get the Supreme Court's nod.
It intends to regularise over 35 lakh properties across the state by collecting fees.
The move is seen as an effort to overcome the financial hardship caused due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
This move to regularise buildings has come after the government has proposed a major change in the Karnataka Land Reforms Act 1961, to allow non-agriculturists to buy farmlands. The amendment also seeks to remove the cap on income from non-agricultural sources, and increase the limit on the amount of land that a person can own. This will come up in the next assembly session in the Vidhana Soudha. It is expected that the move would allow IT professionals to be able to buy land in the state.
The Opposition has slammed the move, with the Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah saying that the move would only hurt legitimate farmers, and that it would encourage land mafia in the state.