During a debate on the K Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats, BJP MLAs raised the issue of the RDPR circular.
BENGALURU: BJP legislators on Tuesday said a circular issued on August 13 had triggered panic in gram panchayats across Karnataka , with a large number of forest dwellers and people living on revenue lands fearing that their properties could be treated as “illegal” for the purpose of property tax collection by GPs.
However, RDPR sources said the matter was more complicated than simply withdrawing the circular, as the decision was based on an amendment introduced in 2025 and passed by both Houses of the legislature.
During a debate on the K Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats, BJP MLAs V Sunil Kumar and Dinkar Shetty raised the issue of the RDPR circular and said: “Those illegal properties within the jurisdiction of GPs or on central or state government sites or land are not eligible to be brought under the ambit of property tax collection. If any such properties have been included in the list of properties eligible for property tax collection, then they need to be removed from such list immediately. ” Kumar said the circular was creating unnecessary panic among people living on the fringes of forests or on revenue lands, where they had been issued door numbers but did not have proper documentation to establish their residence. “I, in fact, suspect that the government is using this as a political tool by issuing such orders and then withdrawing them just before elections for political capital and also using it as an excuse to make money,” he said. However, expelled BJP MLA Shivaram Hebbar, who is now moving closer to the Congress, said he and several other legislators had met the RDPR minister over the issue and had also brought it to the notice of the chief minister. “They have assured that no such action will be initiated and, if necessary, the circular will be withdrawn,” he said.
“The next move, which they fear, is that they will be evicted,” he said.