Karnataka now has a B-khata to A-khata conversion route that runs until 31 December 2027. The Revenue Department issued the order on 9 September 2026, authorising the Urban Development and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj departments to carry it out. It covers plots, sites and land of up to 1,000 sq m in urban local bodies and gram panchayats that are already in a permitted non-agricultural use, subject to cut-off dates and a list of exclusions (Oneindia; Trade Brains).

For Bengaluru city the answer is less tidy. The order does not name Bengaluru or the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), according to an analysis of the gazette text by 66 MG Road. Inside GBA limits, conversion runs through the GBA's own B-to-A khata service, where the reduced 2% fee window closed on 23 August 2026. Updated 15 October 2026. The top-ranking report for this search, Oneindia's, covers the order's rules well but does not address Bengaluru, fees, documents or what a buyer should check; this guide does.

What the 9 September 2026 order says

  • The order: Government Order No. RD-LGP/38/2026, published in Karnataka Gazette Extraordinary No. 916, effective on publication (66 MG Road).
  • Legal basis: Section 96(4) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act was amended on 3 September 2026 so that a 'prescribed officer', not only the Deputy Commissioner, can collect conversion fees and penalties for issuing khata (66 MG Road).
  • Validity: until 31 December 2027. The order sets no separate application deadline.
  • Size: up to 1,000 sq m. Larger parcels are outside this route.
  • Land use: the land must already be in non-agricultural use, and that use must be permitted under the master plan or zonal regulations.

Who processes the application

  • Town municipal councils and town panchayats: the Chief Officer.
  • City municipal councils: the Commissioner.
  • Municipal corporations: the Zonal Commissioner.
  • Gram panchayats: the Panchayat Development Officer (PDO).
  • The Revenue Department sends the officer digital RTC and survey data, including ownership, mutation, tenancy and crop columns, along with auto-calculated conversion charges, regularisation fee and penalties. The officer collects the dues, and the property details go back to update land records (Oneindia; 66 MG Road).

Cut-off dates: urban versus rural

  • Urban local bodies: a B-khata issued on or before 10 September 2024, or a property that existed before that date and met B-khata requirements.
  • Gram panchayats: B-khata assessed or recorded on or before 7 April 2025.
  • Rural plots with no khata at all: eligible if the property changed hands through a registered deed before 7 April 2025.
  • Inside GBA limits: the GBA's own scheme uses a different cut-off, a B-khata registered on or before 30 September 2024, according to PKP Advocates.

Properties that cannot be converted

  • Government, forest, gomal or B-kharab land.
  • Tanks and tank beds, rajakaluves and nalas.
  • Roads, road margins and land reserved for public purposes.
  • Land under acquisition proceedings, under a court or tribunal stay, or carrying government restrictions.
  • Property that violates the master plan or zonal regulations, and anything above 1,000 sq m.
  • Kharab rules: a property wholly within B-kharab land does not qualify. If only part of it is B-kharab, a survey sketch is required and the rest may be considered. Any A-kharab portion needs prior permission from the revenue authority (Oneindia; Trade Brains).

Does it apply in Bengaluru?

Read this carefully if your plot is inside the city. Oneindia's report does not mention Bengaluru, and 66 MG Road notes the order is silent on whether Bengaluru's city corporations count as 'municipal corporations' for this purpose. Trade Brains states that properties within the GBA area apply through the GBA's 'B to A Khata / Single Plot Khata' service, and those outside it follow their local authority's process.

For Bengaluru's suburbs that sit in town municipal councils or gram panchayats rather than the GBA, the 2026 order is the relevant route. Our guides to Anekal (Anekal, Bengaluru: Buyer's Guide 2026 — Prices, Connectivity, Schools and Risks) and Hoskote (Hoskote, Bengaluru: Buyer's Guide 2026 — Prices, Metro, Projects and Risks) explain how those areas are governed.

What it costs

  • Under the 2026 order: the charges are not printed in the order. 66 MG Road says they depend on two cabinet decisions it had not seen; Trade Brains and Oneindia list conversion charges, regularisation fees and penalties without amounts. Ask the processing officer for the calculated demand before you pay.
  • Inside GBA limits: PKP Advocates reports that from 24 August 2026 the charge is 5% of the property's guidance value, plus a ₹500 application fee, after the 2% rate applied to applications filed between 15 May and 23 August 2026.
  • A worked figure: ETV Bharat put the 5% fee at about ₹2.5 lakh on a property with a guidance value of ₹50 lakh, plus mutation and plan-approval charges. A guidance value revision would raise this; see our piece on the proposed hike: Guidance Value Hike Karnataka 2026: The 35% Proposal

Documents to keep ready

PKP Advocates lists these for a GBA application; most apply to the town and village route too.

  • Sale deed and the earlier chain of title deeds.
  • B-khata extract and the latest property tax receipt.
  • Encumbrance certificate for 15 years.
  • DC conversion order, if the land was agricultural.
  • Approved building plan, if the plot is built on, and a site sketch.
  • Aadhaar and PAN for e-KYC, and inheritance papers where relevant.
  • Inside GBA limits, an e-khata first. ETV Bharat reported in 2025 that e-khata was mandatory before applying for A-khata conversion.

How many owners this touches

ETV Bharat reported in November 2025 that Bengaluru had about 7.5 lakh B-khata properties, and that the GBA's conversion drive, launched on 1 November 2025, drew 1,169 applications in its first week. PKP Advocates gives the formal Sakala timeline for a complete GBA application as 30 working days. Expect queues.

If you are buying a B-khata plot