UPOR may be made must for registration of properties

The State government is considering making the proposed Urban Property Ownership Records (UPOR) document (also called property card) compulsory for registration of immovable properties in an effort to preventing fraudulent transactions.

The UPOR project is currently implemented in five cities of Mysore, Mangalore, Shimoga, Bellary and Hubli-Dharwad on pilot basis by the Department of Survey Settlement and Land Records (DSSLR). Work on the integration of UPOR database and the Karnataka Valuation and E-registration (Kaveri) software is in the final stage. UPOR document will be made compulsory for the registration in these cities if the government gives its nod, Commissioner for DSSLR Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey said.

UPOR document is also called property title as it establishes the ownership. The DSSLR will issue the document after verifying all details. The Department will survey, map and measure all properties and verify the authenticity of the ownership using old village maps and revenue records under the project. But the title will not be issued to the disputed properties.
 Distribution of UPOR documents is underway in Mysore, while the project is ready for roll out in other four cities, he added.

Pandey said the DSSLR and the Department of Stamps and Registration are currently testing the functioning of the integrated system. The plan is to enable sub-registrars to verify UPOR document of a property using the Kaveri software. Training will soon be imparted to sub-registrars in all these cities for this purpose, he added.

Private firms unlikely

He said the government is yet to take a decision on whether to involve private companies (also called survey partners) for implementing the project on other cities and towns, including Bangalore. Pilot project in five towns is being implemented on the public-private partnership basis. 

Official sources said Revenue Minister V Srinivas Prasad is not keen on involving private companies for the survey work under the project. He is of the view that services of the newly-recruited government surveyors could be utilised for this purpose. The government has recruited 1,669 surveyors recently. 

So was the reason the government cancelled a tender finalised to award the project to two private companies to implement the project in 50 wards of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) a few months ago.

The rate quoted by the companies was more than what was stipulated in the tender. The DSSLR had left the decision to either approve the tender at the cost quoted by the companies or reject to the government, sources said. Pandey said the UPOR project will be taken up in full swing in all cities and towns of the State once the government takes a decision on the involvement of private partners.