Karnataka relaxes occupancy certificate rule for houses on 30×40 plots in rural areas | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: In a major relief to farmhouse owners and newly-built property owners in rural Karnataka, the govt Wednesday exempted certain categories of houses under gram panchayat (GP) limits from obtaining an occupancy certificate (OC) from the relevant authorities.According to officials of the rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) department, the exemption applies to newly-constructed residential buildings built on 30×40 sqft plots in rural areas falling under gram panchayat limits. This relaxation will come into effect immediately.

The RDPR notification stated, “As per the order, any residential building comprising ground floor plus 2 floors (G+2) or stilt plus 3 floors (Stilt+3), constructed on a 30×40 sqft plot in rural areas under gram panchayat jurisdiction, will be exempted from obtaining a mandatory occupancy certificate, even if the construction was carried out without prior approval or plan sanction from the jurisdictional authorities.“Until now, newly-built buildings in rural areas under gram panchayat limits were required to undergo a detailed inspection process before an OC was issued. This involved visits by gram panchayat officials along with jurisdictional town planning authorities, verification of certificates issued by recognised engineers and architects, and scrutiny of plan approvals. However, the govt noted these procedures were adding to the workload of staff at local bodies, many of which are already understaffed and overburdened. “The existing process caused delays in the disposal of files and in the delivery of various govt services. To ease administrative pressure and ensure faster service delivery, these rules were relaxed, and residential buildings constructed on 30×40 sqft plots were exempted from obtaining OCs,” the order said. The absence of an OC was a major hurdle for property owners, as electricity supply companies (Escoms) and local bodies were refusing to provide essential services such as electricity, water supply and drainage connections. This followed recent Supreme Court guidelines that linked the provision of basic amenities to the availability of valid occupancy certificates. Notably, a few weeks ago, the govt issued a similar exemption for newly-built properties within the jurisdiction of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and other local bodies, waiving the mandatory OC requirement.