Karnataka High Court directs State government to set up Municipal Trust Property Management System to protect public properties

Pointing out that public properties controlled by various municipalities are not maintained and protected as mandated by law, the High Court of Karnataka directed the State government to set up and operationalise a Municipal Trust Property Management System (MTPMS), as a single source of truth for all such properties across the State and assign a Trust Property Identification Number (TPIN).

Besides, the court directed that all municipalities under the Karnataka Municipalities (KMC) Act, 1964, will have to identify and prepare a comprehensive inventories of all “municipal properties” as defined under Section 81 of the KMC Act by correlating municipal and revenue records, land grant orders, and town planning documents within 90 days. The MTPMS should be integrated with other land related systems like Bhoomi, Mojini, e-municipalities, and Sakala portal, etc., the court said.

Classify, grade

Stating that all identified “municipal properties” will have to be classified, risk-graded, physically demarcated on the ground, and geo-tagged using GIS technology, the court said revenue records, including Records of Rights, Tenancy and Crop (RTCs) and municipal records should clearly reflect classification as Municipal Trust Property and no alteration should be made without issuance of notice, conduct of enquiry and passing orders as per the law.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued the direction while disposing of a petition filed by Syed Matin Abbas against the Mysuru Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) 2017 order of cancelling khata of property that his father had purchased in auction conducted by Town Municipal Council, Periyapatna, in 1977.

Audit and alienation

No “municipal property” coming under Section 81 of the Act, should be sold, leased, or otherwise alienated except in strict compliance with Section 72(2) of the Act, and with express Government approval, wherever such approval is required, as “municipal properties vest in the municipalities only in a fiduciary capacity as “trustee” and not as “absolute owner”, the court made it clear.

At State and district levels

While directing the government to set up two committees at the State and the district levels, the court has tasked the district level committees, to be headed by the respective DCs, to conduct time-bound audit of past sales, leases, grant, or transfers, encroachments or unauthorised constructions, and impermissible change of land use.

Stating that a public digital portal should be maintained displaying municipality-wise properties, and providing mechanisms for citizens to report encroachments or misuse of “municipal properties”, the court said that responsibility should be fixed on officers found to have facilitated illegal alienation, encroachment, or misuse of “municipal properties” and disciplinary or other action should be initiated against them as per law.

Court’s directions

Prepare comprehensive inventory of ‘municipal properties’ across the State

Create Municipal Trust Property Management System to manage all of them.

Assign Trust Property Identification Number to every ‘municipal properties’

Identify municipal properties with geo-tagging using GIS tech

Time-bound audits of past sales, leases, encroachments, and land use changes

Provide a public portal for citizen to report misuse of ‘municipal property’