BDA eyes Rs. 3,500 crore from betterment fees

A cash-strapped Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to mobilise revenue. Betterment fee seems to be the latest buzzword among officials.

On Tuesday, the BDA board decided to levy a betterment fee on the land initially notified but later dropped during the formation of Arkavathi and Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layouts. This is expected to yield over Rs. 3,500 crore.

The move comes even as the authority is moving fast to regularise over 3,000 acres of encroached BDA-notified land through which it hopes to mop up over Rs. 4,000 crore. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had made an announcement in this regard in the run-up to the 2015 BBMP polls. Now, BDA has put up a note before the State cabinet. In this case, the betterment fee is yet to be fixed.

Betterment fee

The BDA has identified 2,262 acres dropped during formation of Arkavathi Layout. It has fixed a betterment fee of Rs. 336/sqft, which will yield Rs. 3,310.69 crore. This covers areas that were de-notified and dropped during the re-do scheme in July 2014; the issue is mired in controversy and legal disputes.

It has identified 610 acres dropped during the formation of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout due to de-notification and legal disputes, for which a betterment fee of Rs. 73.65/sqft has been fixed. This is expected to yield Rs. 195.69 crore.

A senior land acquisition officer said that the betterment fee was fixed based on a formula devised by the BDA: it is a third of the hike in guidance value of the land from the value when it was initially notified. The land owners need to pay BDA the betterment fee when they seek a No Objection Certificate for conversion of land use or apply for a development plan. BDA will conduct an on-ground survey of these areas to identify parcels already developed and issue demand notices for betterment fee.