Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar stated on Wednesday that a building plan permission and a possession certificate are mandatory for the construction of houses, as per the Supreme Court’s ruling. He said that water and electricity connections cannot be provided without these documents.

“The apex court order will be applicable to the entire country. This will cause a lot of problems for the public,” he said, adding that more than 2.50 lakh people in villages and urban areas have built houses without obtaining building plan permission and applied for electricity and water connections.

“I have discussed the issue with legal advisors and sought their opinion on how to help the public,” he said.

Citing the Supreme Court’s directive, he said, “If a house is built illegally, it will be difficult to legalise it. Water and electricity connections will not be available [for such houses].”

When asked why this was implemented in a hurry, the Deputy Chief Minister said, “After the court order, the KERC [Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission] wrote a letter to the chief secretary of the State and asked the government to comply with the court order”.