Karnataka Assembly Passes Municipal Corporations Bill for A-Khata Conversion

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly has passed the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2026, creating a legal pathway for eligible properties in unauthorised layouts to transition from B-Khata to A-Khata records.

The legislation amends Section 284 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act. It introduces a formal mechanism for roads earmarked in eligible unauthorised layouts to be declared and recorded as public roads by concerned municipal corporations and municipalities across Karnataka.

Thousands of properties across the state's urban centres were built decades ago without adhering to full planning and approval requirements. While many property owners obtained B-Khata entries, they remained unable to secure A-Khata status because roads within their layouts were never formally handed over to local bodies or registered as public infrastructure. In several older developments, roads continued to be registered in the names of original landowners.

Under the newly approved amendment, the formal recognition of these layout roads as public thoroughfares provides the required legal basis to evaluate properties for A-Khata. Once the road recognition criteria and other statutory requirements are fulfilled, qualifying plots and houses can become eligible for full municipal records.

The state government clarified that the amendment does not provide an automatic conversion of every B-Khata property into an A-Khata. Individual properties must continue to meet prescribed rules, documentation requirements, and applicable conditions before an A-Khata can be granted. Furthermore, the legislation focuses strictly on addressing older, legacy layouts developed decades ago, rather than offering blanket regularisation or permitting new unauthorised developments.

Securing an A-Khata entry offers stronger legal standing in civic registers and facilitates building plan approvals and Occupancy Certificates. It can also reduce administrative hurdles when applying for property and housing loans, though individual banks will continue to apply their own lending standards.

The legal mechanism is designed to be implemented across Karnataka, encompassing municipal corporations, municipalities, and Gram Panchayat jurisdictions.