Bengaluru: In a major relief to lakhs of homeowners, the Karnataka Cabinet led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah decided to exempt residential buildings above 1,200 sq. ft. within the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) limits from the mandatory Occupancy Certificate (OC) requirement to secure electricity connections.

The decision, taken under Section 241(7) of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, will enable buildings that were constructed without approved plans or without obtaining an OC to access power supply.

As per Supreme Court orders, an OC was compulsory for availing basic civic amenities, including electricity. However, since many buildings were constructed without plan approvals, authorities could not issue OCs, leaving over 3.3 lakh buildings across Karnataka—including several in Bengaluru—without power connections.Residents of these buildings had submitted repeated requests seeking electricity connections.

To address this long-pending demand, the Cabinet has now resolved to bring in a special law allowing a one-time relaxation to provide electricity to all such existing constructions.

The exemption will ensure that property owners, even if they failed to comply with building norms, will now be able to access essential utilities such as power, water, and sanitation facilities.

Officials clarified that this exemption applies only once and is not a blanket waiver for future violations. However, the decision is expected to benefit lakhs of households currently residing in buildings without OCs.