2 Bills passed in K'taka Council amid BJP, JD(S) protest over Nagendra's induction
The Karnataka Legislative Council on Monday, August 24, passed two Bills amid protests by the BJP and JD(S) over the re-induction of B Nagendra into the state Cabinet and their demand for his removal in connection with the alleged Valmiki Corporation scam.
The Opposition continued its protest as the Council cleared the Karnataka Municipalities Amendment Bill, 2026, and the Karnataka Apartment Ownership and Management Bill, 2026.
Urban Development Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah moved the Karnataka Municipalities Amendment Bill for passage. With Opposition members raising slogans, Chairman Saleem Ahmed put the motion to vote and declared, “I think the ‘Yeses’ have it. The ‘Yeses’ have it. The motion is carried and the Bill is passed.”
Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda then introduced the Karnataka Apartment Ownership and Management Bill, 2026, saying it would establish a legal framework for managing and maintaining apartments and provide mechanisms to settle disputes involving residents, builders and resident welfare associations.
Gowda said the need for such legislation had grown with the increasing number of people living in apartment complexes and the disputes arising over maintenance, common areas, residents' associations and redevelopment of ageing buildings.
The Bill makes registration of apartment resident welfare associations compulsory and mandates annual audits. Existing associations will also have to register afresh under the new law.
“Therefore, registration under this law will be compulsory. That will provide a fresh and clean start,” Gowda said.
The legislation also provides a dispute-resolution mechanism, including an appellate authority, and was prepared following consultations with stakeholders, the minister said.
Developers who have collected maintenance or development charges will have to provide the recognised Resident Welfare Association with details of the amounts collected, expenditure incurred and the balance remaining.
Gowda said the legislation adopts a rights-based approach similar to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA).
“Before purchase, buyers receive protection under RERA. After purchasing and beginning to live in the apartment, this law gives them rights,” he said.
The Apartment Ownership and Management Bill was also passed amid the Opposition's protest.
The BJP and JD(S) have been opposing Nagendra's return to the Cabinet. He had resigned from the previous Siddaramaiah government in June 2024 after allegations of financial irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Nagendra in July 2024 in connection with the case, and he was subsequently granted bail. He has since figured in chargesheets filed by the ED and CBI.
Nagendra was inducted into Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's Cabinet on August 3 and given the Planning and Statistics portfolio.
The Opposition has demanded his removal, arguing that he should not remain a minister while facing allegations and criminal proceedings in the case. The CBI has also recently sought the Karnataka Governor's sanction to prosecute him in the alleged Valmiki Corporation scam.
(With inputs from PTI)