Bengaluru’s land-allotment ecosystem is facing renewed scrutiny as buyers of irregular and corner plots under the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) allege they are being subjected to disproportionately high property taxes. The dispute centres on how vacant land tax slabs are applied, with residents arguing that marginal increases in plot size are resulting in significantly higher annual levies, despite no difference in civic infrastructure or service access. The issue has surfaced across multiple large-scale BDA layouts, including newer planned developments on the city’s periphery. Buyers of non-standard plots often created due to road geometry or corner alignments say that exceeding a size threshold by a few square metres automatically pushes the entire site into a higher tax bracket. As a result, the full land area is taxed at nearly double the rate, rather than applying the higher rate only to the additional area.
Urban finance experts note that slab-based taxation is intended to simplify administration, but can create inequities when applied rigidly to land parcels with unavoidable design variations. In Bengaluru’s case, this has translated into neighbours on the same street, with identical access to roads, drainage, and water networks, paying sharply different taxes under the BDA property tax regime. Residents’ associations estimate that several thousand plots across major layouts fall into this category. Over the past five years, representations have been submitted seeking a proportional or incremental method of assessment, similar to income-based tax slabs. Allottees argue that the current system undermines trust in public land agencies and raises the cost of ownership in areas that were meant to offer planned, affordable alternatives to private developments.
From a governance perspective, the matter highlights the growing tension between digital automation and equitable urban management. Officials familiar with the process say tax calculations are now entirely system-driven, with software assigning rates based on predefined size bands. While automation has improved efficiency and reduced manual discretion, planners caution that systems designed without flexibility risk amplifying structural unfairness. The BDA property tax framework itself was revised in the mid-2010s after earlier complaints of excessive levies on vacant plots. At the time, the authority recalibrated rates based on plot dimensions and guideline values, and adjusted excess collections. However, critics say the revision did not adequately address irregular plots, which are common in master-planned layouts due to road networks and open-space reservations.
For a city grappling with housing affordability, climate-resilient planning, and citizen confidence in public institutions, the implications extend beyond taxation. Equitable land policies are central to inclusive urban growth, especially as Bengaluru expands into new zones with large publicly developed layouts. Urban policy specialists suggest that a review of slab thresholds, coupled with marginal-rate taxation for excess land, could resolve disputes without reducing overall revenue. As the city pushes for transparent, people-first urban governance, the resolution of this issue may set an important precedent for how technology, fairness, and fiscal policy intersect in India’s rapidly growing metros.
