Udupi: Cumbersome process puts land sellers, buyers in confusion

Suvarna Brahmavar
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi, Aug 1: Stricter laws with regard to purchase, sale and conversion of land, irrational attitude of the officials has been taking its toll on real estate business in the Udupi district for the last couple of years. This has resulted in reduced revenue even for the government. Yet the officials’ nonchalant attitude has not changed and this has resulted in vexing the residents as they are made to run from pillar to post just to sell or purchase a piece of land, says former president of zilla panchayat (ZP) Bhujanga Shetty.

He added that the coastal districts had earlier been given certain exemptions regarding purchase, sale or conversion of land. Actually coastal districts are not known for acres and hectares of empty lands. Most of the people own just a few cents of lands and hence the land laws which are applied in the other districts of Karnataka cannot be applied as they are in the coastal districts owing to its peculiar geography. However of late people are finding it extremely difficult with regard to land conversion. Add to this the confusion regarding Form No 9 & Form No 11. People are literally facing an upheaval task even to own a few cents of land.

What are Form 9 and 11?

These forms are issued by the Village Panchayat after the conversion of the property has been done which contains the Khatha and Assessment in Form No 9 and the Mutation Entry evidencing the transfer of Khatha in Form No.11. If there is a building or development in the proposed land, then additional stamp fee must be paid at the time of registering the land. However now the Village Panchayats cannot issue these Forms unless a Non-Objection Certificate (NOC) is availed from the urban development authority. This is quite impractical as people who own just 10-20 cents of land are made to make several trips to the Urban Development Authority to procure the NOC. Further this also involves substantial expences which come as a burden both for buyer and seller.

Since more than 40% panchayats in the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada come under Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) and also due to the absence of any ‘Gramathanas’ (non-agricultural land) among any of the panchayats in Udupi districts, the then district in-charge minister Kota Srinivas Poojary, through a letter dated March 18, 2013 had urged the Chief Minister to exempt DK and Udupi from compulsory implementation of Form No 9 & 11. Following this, the then CM Jagdish Shetter had directed the DC to exempt rural areas of both Udupi and DK districts from Form No 9  & 11. However with the change of CM as well as district in-charge minister after the Assembly elections, the order still stands far from implementation.

The former visionary chief ministers often directed the officials not to trouble commoner with rules and regulations. They even used to exhort the officials to propose any amendments in Laws in case such laws were increasing the hardships of common people. But today, the government offices and officials therein seem to have forgotten that their first and foremost duty is to assist and ease the trouble of the common people instead of confusing and frightening them with unnecessary clauses of Laws. There are hardly any government offices and officials who move with just one application. People need to make number of rounds to these offices even to extract a basic document or avail necessary information.

Former vice-president of Kunjal gram panchayat Rajiv Kulal says that poor who wish to build a house for themselves even on a five or 10 cents land, Form No 9 & 11 are requested. People cannot even sell their small piece of land to meet their urgent financial needs.

This law was earlier in vogue only in the Udupi Town Municipality and Town Panchayat limits. However it was then extended even to the rural gram panchayats. Such Laws are necessary but they should be implemented keeping in mind the local issues and must be simplified that commoner is not troubled, says Satish Amin Barkur.

Usually the governments issue populists orders keeping in mind the general public. However such measures may at times prove troublesome to the poor people, specially the ones living in the rural and remote areas. This is what happening with the strict implementation of Form No 9 & 11. The coastal people who usually own only a small piece of land unlike people of Malnad or other regions, find it difficult to abide by government norms. The issue must be brought to the notice of the revenue minister and concerned officials so that a solution is found at the earliest, opines Brahmavar Block Congress president Birthi Rajesh Shetty.

He further says that Udupi and DK districts do not boast of huge stretch of land which is good for development and construction. It’s a coastal belt and hence most of the times inundated even during non-monsoon season. Further the CRZ regulations are strictly followed making a lot of coastal areas uninhabited. So if the officials make Form No 9 & 11 compulsory, then this move may result in skyrocketing of land prices owing to the unavailability of land of construction and development. Ultimately the middle and lower middle class people may find it extremely to own their own land or house at affordable price, adds Rajesh Shetty.

Following measures might ease the present confusion and problems:

1. The mandatory 55:45 ratio with regard to the empty space within the housing layouts built in 3 acre or less land must be scrapped and instead it should be made mandatory that main roads and cross roads within the layouts at least 30 and 20 feet respectively keeping proper drainages on both sides of these roads.

2. In housing layouts carved out on less than 3 acres of land only a 5-cent land should be earmarked for utilities such as gardens, transformers, segregation

3. The properties which are yet to be sold but have been converted before June 14, 2013 and those who build RCC houses for their personal dwelling must be given exemption from Form No 9 & 11 rules

4. Even if the law is to be implemented, it should be directed that people are allowed to take all permissions only from their local gram panchayats and are not made to visit Town Municipalities or Urban Development Authorities

5. The exemption must be continued till the details of the earmarked ‘Gramathanas’ are made available in all the village panchayats.