Issue B-Khata to properties in illegal layouts as one-time settlement: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Feb 18 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday instructed officials to put an end to the illegal residential layouts in Karnataka by issuing B-Khata to properties as a one-time settlement.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to complete the process within three months.
In residential areas in Karnataka, people get A-Khata for the layouts approved by the competent authorities such as Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) or Urban Development Authorities. The properties on layouts without approval get B-Khata as they are illegal. This move will give relief to lakhs of property owners across the state and generate huge revenue for the government, a municipal officer told PTI.
Chairing a meeting with the officials of the Urban Development Department and Deputy Commissioners of the districts through video conference, the chief minister said the menace of illegal layouts should end once and for all.
"We will end this (illegal layout menace) by giving B-Khata once and for all. This is only one-time measure. You (officials) have been given only three months. Conduct a campaign and complete it within this time," Siddaramaiah was quoted in a statement issued by his office.
The CM said the government will put an end to the unauthorised settlements which are there in all the cities, towns, municipal limits and villages.
"There should be no room for unauthorised settlements in the state from now on. We have started a drive to put an end to unauthorised settlements through the law. The officials should clearly understand and start their work," Siddaramaiah said in the meeting.
He told the officers that the state is not getting revenue from unauthorised layouts.
"People are not getting civic amenities and local bodies are also losing income. All these disadvantages need to be put to an end," the chief minister said.
The government will not compromise on this anymore, he said, and warned that the administration will not tolerate if the officials compromise.
"If unauthorised settlements raise their heads again, the District Collector, Chief Officer, and Urban Planning Officers will be held accountable. We will take action against them without hesitation," the chief minister said in the meeting.
He also asked the officials to drive away middlemen and brokers immediately.
Siddaramaiah also told the officials that they should clearly understand the government’s vision behind enacting laws to curb illegal layouts.
"Illegal layouts and settlements on revenue (agriculture) land should not raise their head again in the state. Those who have sites and built houses in unauthorised and revenue settlements should not be troubled."
"You have to give a one-time solution to facilitate the poor and middle class. Give everyone B-Khata within three months and end it. Start giving B-Khata from today itself. Let there be no confusion," the CM said at the meeting.
Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre and Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh and other senior officials were present at the meeting.
Later speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah said the government had formed a committee led by Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre. After the committee gave its report, a law was formulated to check illegal layouts.
"Presently we are giving all facilities to the properties in the revenue layouts, but they are not paying taxes. Hence, I have directed officials to launch a B-Khata drive," he said.
The CM explained that such a drive is being carried out in Bengaluru. Next, it will be done in municipalities and areas under the Urban Development Department.
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Gurugram Police arrest BJP Yuva Morcha member for spreading fake murder story on social media
New Delhi: Gurugram Police have arrested BJP Yuva Morcha member Hariom Mishra, for allegedly spreading a fabricated and communally sensitive story on social media about the murder of a college student in Gurugram.
Mishra who is also known as Shaurya Mishra had shared a collage of four photographs on his X handle earlier this month. He claimed that a 24-year-old college student, identified as Nikita Agarwal, had been murdered by her classmate Arif Khan in Gurugram. In the post, he alleged that the woman was blackmailed, forced into prostitution, gangraped, and eventually killed. He also claimed that Arif dumped her body in a forest. The claims were presented as being based on police sources.
The post went viral and garnering over 1.5 lakh views, and was amplified by several right-wing social media handles across X, Facebook and Instagram. A verification of the claims revealed that no such incident had taken place in Gurugram. A search of credible news reports showed no record of any such murder. The police said this news would have inevitably attracted media attention if it were true.
On December 11, Gurugram Police publicly refuted the claims through their official X handle. They stated that the information which was being circulated was completely false. The police warned that legal action would be taken against those spreading misinformation. Despite the warning, Mishra neither deleted the post nor issued any clarification.
Police in Gurugram confirmed Mishra's arrest on December 16. The police said a FIR was filed after he continued to spread false information about the alleged murder of a Hindu woman by Muslim man. Police said Mishra, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district, is now being investigated.
Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep Singh told The Print that the accused had deliberately misrepresented facts and used objectionable content to spread hatred along religious lines. “Such posts can create serious disturbances in society, and the police take these matters very seriously,” he said.
A reverse image search conducted by fact-checkers at Alt News, revealed that the photographs used in the viral post were unrelated to the claims, while two of the images were traced to a Pinterest account belonging to influencer Maulik Chopra and another image was sourced from an Instagram post by influencer Shivam Thakur featuring a woman named Deepanshi Rawat. The fourth image was found on an unrelated Instagram page. The images depicted different individuals and had no connection to any crime.
Police said they are also investigating Mishra’s motive behind sharing the false and provocative content.
