Bengaluru: As a real estate-friendly initiative, a Government Order has been issued to issue Khata within seven days of property registration. Earlier, it would take up to 34 days for the issuance of Khata after a property is registered in Karnataka.

Revenue Minister R. Ashoka told reporters in Bengaluru yesterday that earlier, people used to make the rounds of Sub-Registrar’s offices for the Khata document after they have registered their properties. This used to lead to corruption and the complexities of the procedure.

“We have eliminated this totally now and the Khata will be issued within 7 days of property registration,” he said. On land conversion, the Minister said that the Government will introduce a Bill in Belagavi Assembly Session next month that allows agricultural land to be converted for non-agricultural use in just 3 days. “This will prevent citizens from running pillar to post and keep middlemen out,” Ashoka said.

Another Bill to give on lease to farmers Government land on which they are carrying out unauthorised cultivation will be introduced. “In Hassan, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and other places, agriculture is being done on Government land that extends up to one lakh hectares. This is leading to friction with officials and criminal cases are being registered against farmers. To put an end to this, farmers will get land on a 30-year lease,” the Minister said.

The Government plans to use this land to find a solution to the perennial problem of ‘Bagair Hukum,’ which refers to unauthorised cultivation on Government land. This is most prevalent in districts such as Mysuru, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Uttara Kannada, he noted.

“Coffee, cardamom and other crops are grown in such land. Land will be given to the encroachers on a 30-year lease basis. Of the encroached lands, 80% of cases involve plots measuring less than five acres,” he explained.

Ashoka said that the yearly lease amount will be fixed. “All these years, the encroachers have enjoyed possession of the land without paying anything to the Government. Going forward, they have to pay the lease. This will help identify that the encroached land belongs to the Government,” he added.