Apartment Bill 2025 to be resident-friendly, says Deputy CM at Bengaluru meet
Bengaluru:
Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar on Saturday said the Karnataka government would stand firmly with apartment residents and homebuyers, and has begun consulting apartment associations on the proposed Karnataka Apartment (Ownership and Maintenance) Bill, 2025 to make it fair and transparent.
Addressing representatives of apartment associations at a consultation held at the Vidhana Soudha banquet hall, Shivakumar said suggestions on the Bill could also be emailed to gbasuggestion@gmail.com within the next 10 days.
“I will personally examine every suggestion. I understand your problems because I, too, own apartments. This is not my government; it is your government,” he said.
Seeking political backing, the Deputy Chief Minister urged apartment residents to support the ruling party in the forthcoming Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) elections. “Along with helping you, I seek your support through votes. Please stand with us in the GBA elections. I have taken the initiative to implement laws that no one dared to enforce earlier—do not disappoint me,” he said.
Shivakumar said he was keen to leave a lasting legacy in Bengaluru through infrastructure and governance reforms. He defended the government’s push for two tunnel roads, a 130-km Bengaluru Business Corridor at a cost of ₹26,000 crore, 40 km of double-decker flyovers, 117 km of new flyovers, and 300 km of buffer roads, stating that these projects were aimed at easing congestion in a city where road-widening is constrained by high land acquisition costs.
He added that the Prime Minister and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had encouraged the state to proceed with the projects.
He also highlighted governance reforms such as easier building plan approvals for plots up to 50×80 feet under the “trust-based plan approval” system, the rollout of premium FAR, implementation of e-khata, and assured that urban transformation required sustained effort and patience. “There are no overnight miracles,” he said.
Responding sharply to what he termed as threats from an individual claiming to represent apartment owners, Shivakumar said intimidation would not work. “I have faced jail without fear of the Prime Minister or the Home Minister. I will not be cowed down by anyone else,” he said, urging critics to engage responsibly.
Emphasising the scale of Bengaluru’s growth, the Deputy Chief Minister said the city’s population had doubled from 70 lakh to 1.4 crore over the past 25 years, with about 19% of residents living in apartments.
He noted that Bengaluru now had around 1.3 crore vehicles, with nearly 3,000 new registrations daily, and remained a global IT hub with a large expatriate population.
While expressing disappointment that apartment residents had not supported the ruling party in past elections despite government assistance during crises such as water shortages, Shivakumar said the government had still chosen to consult them on the new Bill. “This legislation must be open and just. Your voice, legislators’ voices and the government’s voice should align,” he said, adding that the law would apply across the state, including Bengaluru’s outer areas.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the consultations would continue before the Bill is finalised and placed before the legislature.