Karnataka Assembly clears bill to help out B khata property owners

Bengaluru: The state assembly on Friday approved an amendment that could give lakhs of property owners in old unauthorised layouts a legal route to secure A khata records, easing decades of ownership and administrative uncertainty.

The Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2026, provides for eligible plots and houses in unauthorised layouts to be converted from B khata to A khata after roads in such layouts are formally recognised as public roads.

Introducing the Bill, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the measure was part of the government’s commitment to provide secure and legally recognised ownership, which he described as a “Land Guarantee”.


The amendment to Section 284 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act seeks to address problems arising from unauthorised layouts that came up across urban Karnataka over the past three to four decades.

Many such layouts were developed without adequate roads, drainage, electricity, drinking water and other basic infrastructure, leaving property owners with B khata records and limited access to formal property rights and approvals.

B khata to A khata

Under the amendment, roads earmarked in eligible unauthorised layouts can be declared public roads and formally recorded as such by the municipal body concerned.

Once the roads are recognised, eligible property owners can apply for A khata, subject to prescribed rules and conditions.

The move is expected to improve access to bank loans and ease hurdles in obtaining building plan approvals and Occupancy Certificates, subject to statutory requirements.

Byre Gowda said the government had in 2024 decided to stop the creation of new unauthorised layouts while finding a solution for properties in legacy layouts. “Ownership can have real security only when property owners are able to obtain A khata,” he said.

The government said the system, already implemented in Bengaluru, would now be extended to municipal corporations, municipalities and Gram Panchayats across Karnataka.

The legislation also seeks to ensure that the relief for legacy properties does not become a route for creating new unauthorised layouts.