Curation Team
BENGALURU: After slapping thousands of e-khata holders with penalty notices over what it claimed to be under-declared parking space in property tax filings, BBMP has dropped another bombshell — even if you cough up penalty, it won’t update property dimensions in the e-khata.
Furious property owners are calling it daylight robbery. “First, they accuse us of under-declaring parking space. Now, when we agree to pay the penalty they demand, they refuse to make corrections. If nothing changes, why are we paying?” ask property owners. Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar‘s silence has baffled them too since he holds Bengaluru development portfolio.
The issue could create new flashpoints in the city’s apartment complexes. In several complexes, residents own more than one parking lot but pay the same maintenance charges. If BBMP’s notices start formalising higher declared parking areas for some and not others, this could trigger disputes over who owes more to the resident welfare association (RWA), according to Anwar K from central business district.
“This will open a Pandora’s box,” said Priya Nair, a flat owner in Bellandur. “We’ve already had squabbles over parking slots. Now, if BBMP puts on record that someone has more space but doesn’t correct e-khata, the ambiguity will only create resentment. Those with fewer parking slots will start demanding that owners of multiple slots pay more, and vice-versa,” Nair told TOI.
Some property owners are questioning the legal validity of penalising citizens without rectifying records that the penalty is supposedly addressing. “If BBMP is claiming my property is larger than what I declared, then updating e-khata is the logical outcome. By refusing to do so, they are essentially collecting money without giving anything in return,” said Shashidhar Iyer, a retired bank employee from Jayanagar.
Vinay R, a flat owner on Old Airport Road, said, “As a senior citizen, it is exhausting for me to go through so much hassle just to get paperwork issues sorted. If I pay penalty, my parking space might have increased on paper, but not in reality. Who am I supposed to check with?”
