Response

Private ownership over kharab land
Private ownership over kharab land can thus be claimed only if it is established that:

The kharab extent belongs to private party i.e. he acquired the title validly, and
The kharab portion is not ÔBÕ kharab.
Source of acquisition
To ascertain the title to kharab extent is validly acquired, the source of acquisition for instance:

Issued by state authorities,
Sale deed,
Gift deed etc. will have to be examined.
Dealing with a private individual ownership claim over land described as ÒkharabÓ and occupied by the tank.
AÕ kharab
ÔAÕ kharab is classified as unfit for agriculture at the time of survey including the farm buildings or threshing floor of the holder.

The ÔAÕ kharab area may form part of the land held under private ownership. It comprises the portion that is not used for cultivation, but for purposes like:

Farm buildings, or
Threshing floor etc.
Therefore sometimes, it could be exempted from the land revenue assessment. ÔAÕ kharab area can be brought under cultivation. It is capable of conveyance or conversion to non-agricultural use.

It is pertinent to mention that Kharab ÔAÕ land is capable of ownership and cannot be claimed to be adjunct to cultivable land. Kharab ÔAÕ land does not get automatically transferred along with adjoining agricultural/cultivable area. Merely because a land is classified as ÔAÕ kharab, it cannot be assumed that it is under private ownership.

Significantly, section 67(1) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 declares that all lands which are not the property of any person are the property of the state government. It provides:

All public roads, streets, lanes, paths, bridges, ditches, dikes, fences
The bed of:
The sea, harbors, creeks below high water mark and of rivers,
Streams, nalas, lakes
Tanks, and all canals and watercourses
All standing and flowing waters, and
All lands wherever situated which are not the property of individuals or of aggregate of persons legally capable of holding property, and except insofar as any rights of such persons may be established, in or over the same, and except as may be otherwise provided in any law for the time being in force, are and are hereby declared to be with all rights in or over the same or appertaining thereto, the property of the State government.
ÔBÕ kharab
ÔBÕ kharab is not assessed because:

It is reserved or assigned for the public purpose
It is occupied by a road or recognized footpath or by a tank or stream used by persons other than the holders for:
Irrigation
Drinking, or
Domestic Purposes

Reference: Rule 21 (2) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Rules

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LAWAYZ-2023-474