In an apparent move to check land fraud and rein in benami transactions, the government made digital khata or e-khata mandatory for property registration in 44 wards in Bengaluru.
“We have already implemented this in 14 wards and a government order has been issued for covering another 30 wards,” said Mamatha BR, inspector general of registration and commissioner of stamps.
Revenue department officials said it will come into force in 100 wards by the year-end, and in all other wards by 2023. The initiative will prevent property fraud and save buyers from swindlers who try to sell a piece of land or property several times, an official said.
The new e-swathu software is expected to prevent real estate fraud and property disputes to a great extent and improve management of property records.
“Under this system, impersonation during registration is not possible as the digital khata certificate will have 47 types of information, including photo of the property owner. The documents will be digitally signed, barcoded and uploaded onto DigiLocker,” an official said.
The earlier versions of khata certificate and khata extract had 18 kinds of information. This apart, owners can update property records on their own through the portal following various transactions such as sales, inheritance, partition, gift, will, land acquisition, court decree, khata amalgamation/bifurcation.
“This will be authorised by the revenue officer after proper verification,” an official said. In 2020, the Palike, along with the revenue department, implemented the eAasthi pilot in three wards in the Shantinagar division— Neelasandra, Shantinagar, and Shantalanagar— where digital khatas are al- ready being issued.
Over 100 wards will be covered in the first phase, involving the core zones of Bengaluru east and south zone while Mahadevapura, Yelahanka, Dasarahalli, Bommanahalli, Rajarajeshwari Nagar and other areas will be covered in the second phase.
Since the e-swathu and Kaveri systems of the department of stamps and registration are already linked, any mutation (change in ownership) can be initiated automatically. “A notice will be generated from the system automatically by initiating a transaction after receiving registration details electronically. Officials will have three days to verify/hear objections. There is also a facility to upload supporting documents wherever applicable, following which the mutation/khata extract will be generated,” an official said.
Darshan Govindaraju, director, Vaishnavi Group, said getting a khata has always been an arduous task. The digitisation of the khata process is a step in the right direction for the real estate industry. “It will enhance the convenience of record keeping and accessibility for homeowners,” he added.
Suresh Hari, chairman, CREDAI, Bengaluru, said ekhata will help in preventing property fraud as khata can be used only by property owners who have been allotted a property identification number (PID).
“A buyer can check the authenticity of the land records online and it will only benefit the real estate sector in a big way,” he added.