Property registrations could soon be a breeze

Property registrations in Bengaluru could be a walk in the park from June as the government is planning to introduce a new software that allows citizens to complete the process from the comfort of their homes.

The Kaveri 2 portal promises to make the entire experience hassle-free and less traumatic by eliminating the menace of middlemen, who rule the roost at sub-registrar offices, as well as bring in transparency and accountability.

Developed by the Centre for Smart Governance under the e-governance department of the Karnataka government, the portal was launched as a pilot in Chincholi in Kalaburagi district. Later, in March, it was expanded and presently close to 100 sub-registrar offices across the state now run on Kaveri 2 software.

“People will only have to make an appointment and visit the sub-registrar office once to provide their thumb impression and photo. All other processes are online and the portal is citizen-friendly,” said Mamatha B R, Inspector General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps.

So far, over 19,555 properties have been registered under the system and revenue worth Rs 54.35 crore has been collected.

But the department waited to introduce the software in Bengaluru.

“Bengaluru records the highest number of property transactions in the city and we wanted to ensure that the system is ready to operate at such levels. The teething problems have been addressed in the early phases,” a senior official from the Department of Stamps and Registrations said.

Officials have also observed that the efficiency of registrations has gone up significantly in sub-registrar offices.

“Since Kaveri 2 is integrated to work seamlessly with E-aasthi, E-swathu, and Bhoomi, a number of parameters are fetched by default, making the process seamless for both citizens and officials,” Mamatha said.

Sources in the department said that the system will also plug any leaks in the revenue flow since the registration fees will be directly transferred to the treasury.

To acquaint citizens with the new system, the department has released a manual and also runs a helpline.