BENGALURU, 13, DEC

Supreme Court's directive to the State earlier this week to give Rs 3,000 crore compensation to the Mysuru royal family—Wadiyars—for acquiring 15 acres of land on Jayamahal and Ballari Roads has led to a debate about who was responsible for the delay in fixing the compensation rates.

Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) had fixed the Transferable Development Rights (TDR) rate at Rs 1 crore for the 15 acres and 17.5 guntas of land based on the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996, in June this year. The property had been acquired for widening the road. The royal family had challenged the method used for the valuation.

Supreme Court, on 10 December, questioned the government for the delay in compensation. The blame game is now between Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Revenue Department over paying the valuation of the property.

Sources told Salar News that the districts’ deputy commissioners are responsible for fixing the market value of any property for which compensation is to be paid, according to Section 26 of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act 2013. In this case, it applies to the BBMP commissioner. However, BBMP sad they had written letters to the Revenue Department’s Principal Secretary for fixing the market value but received no response.

The apex court stated that the BBMP was supposed to fix the land's value—the guidance value—which was Rs 2,83,500 per sqm for the Bengaluru Palace land and Rs 2,04,400 per sqm for Jayamahal road, both of which worked out to Rs 3,000 crore.

Guidance value is the minimum price at which property must be registered for financial transactions. It varies by area and is set by the Revenue Department, considering stamp duty and registration fees. It’s usually lower than the market value. The guidance value applies to entire areas or roads, not individual properties. In contrast, the market value of a property is determined by the deputy commissioners under the Land Acquisition Act 2013.

According to sources, BBMP had fixed the value for the Bangalore Palace land, but the Revenue Department reportedly did not notify the guidance value under Section 45 (B) of the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957. BBMP is said to have sent several reminders to the Department of Stamps and Registration to notify the guidance value.

However, sources in the Revenue Department maintained that under the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957, it has no role in fixing the market value of a property.

"When the government acquires a property, the market rate is fixed by the deputy commissioner, and in the Bengaluru Palace land case, the BBMP commissioner had to notify the value," they added.

A Revenue Department official said the Central Valuation Committee (CVC) fixes the market value guidelines or guidance value once a year. A preliminary notification is issued, and objections are called for. Once the final guidance value is notified, the role of the CVC ends.

The guidance value is a gazetted public document and is not issued case by case. The gazette notification for 2019 was in the public domain. The CVC has fixed the guideline values for 2023, and that is also in the public domain. —Salar News