Explained | What is e-Khata and how to get it

The Karnataka government, on October 1, 2024 kicked off the long-awaited e-Khata project in Karnataka, starting with Bengaluru.

The main purpose of the e-Khata was not only to put an end to fraudulent land transactions, but also to add as many properties as possible under the tax ambit.

For long, the real estate mafia used to sell the same plot to multiple people. The latter, who invested their hard-earned money in a land parcel to build their dream home, have to run pillar to post to get back the ownership of the property.

Also, with most of properties digitised, government will be able to improve its annual tax collection, which can be used to maintain cities such as Bengaluru.

However, the implementation hasn't been a smooth one, as there were a lot of discrepancies at the start in locating the property IDs in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike E-Aasthi website.

In recent weeks, Munish Moudgil (IAS), the Special Commissioner (Revenue) and his team have managed to improve the E-Aasthi website.

They have made the requirement of Encumbrance Certificate (EC) optional now, which greatly benefits senior citizens with legal properties, saving time and energy to get e-Khata faster.

Note: EC is a legal document that states whether the property is free from any financial or legal liabilities as such. It should be noted that EC is a must for those who want to sell their property in BBMP areas.

For the benefit of citizens, Congress MLAs, including revenue minister Krishna Byre Gowda, are hosting e-Khata melas. In his home constituency, Byatrayanapura, which has more than 1.8 lakh properties, Byre Gowda said his team has managed to deliver a little over 50,000 e-Khatas to rightful owners.

More such ward-level e-Khata melas are expected to be launched across Bengaluru city in the coming weeks, said the Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development and Town Planning and Bengaluru Urban District In-charge minister.

Out of 25 lakh-plus properties in Bengaluru, a little over five lakh e-Khata documents have been delivered to the citizens.

To get the e-Khata, citizens should have at least five documents listed below:

1) Registered property deed

2) Self Assessment Scheme ( SAS) Property tax receipt (SAS number is a 10-digit number; it is in the top left corner in the box titled Application number: XXXXXXXXXXX, right beside the Bengaluru gopura icon of BBMP's annual tax receipt)

3) Bescom RR Number

4) GPS Photo of the building or the apartment. Users can use their phone with the GPS Map Camera app to get the required photo.

5) BBMP Khata (A or B)

The citizen should have either A-Khata or B-Khata. The A-Khata is a legal property document with clear titles offered to people who own houses or plots authorised by the BDA or the BBMP.

B-Khata document is given to properties (without building plan approvals and those in un-approved layouts) in regions which were previously not under BBMP or BDA limits.

With these documents, you are assured of e-Khata at the melas organised by the government of Karnataka and NGOs.

There is an option to get e-Khata online as well.

Here's how to apply for the e-Khata draft on BBMP's E-Aasti portal:

Step 1: Go to the BBMP e-Aasthi website (here ) and type in your phone number and get OTP to log in to the portal.

Step 2: Search Your Ward name or number listed on the website, or type it yourself in the search tab. [Make sure you select Ward name as mentioned in the BBMP TAX receipt]

Step 2: Then, you will be taken to another page with the Search Type tab (--with five options-- 1) Property EPID (Electronic Property Identification) number, 2) Owner Name 3) Assessment Number, 4) Property Address, 5) Book No (number)

E-Khata search types to list the properties in the particular ward.

Note:

--EPID is mentioned in the A-Khata property documents

-- The Assessment Number is the old property ID, which is usually mentioned in the B-Khata document.

-- Book No. (Book Number) Field in the BBMP e‑Aasthi (e‑Khata) portal refers to the digitised physical BBMP register book where the owner's property’s Khata record was originally entered. In earlier days, BBMP officials used to manually write and maintain it in hard-cover ledgers.

You can follow the procedure by watching the BBMP's official video tutorial. If you are lucky, you will find your name in the list.

You will be offered the e-Khata Draft and you have to fill in all the required information in the slots and submit the document online on the same portal. Depending on the functioning of the BBMP server, typically it takes 48 hours or up to a maximum of 15 days for document verification and to get the final e-Khata document.

Most of the properties missing in the e-Khata draft are those that were originally part of the seven local municipal corporations, the suburban regions of the old Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. In 2007, these corporations were merged to form a new entity called Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP), which will soon be officially called as Greater Bengaluru Authority.

If you can't find your name in the properties list, select the tab 'Do not Find My Property Draft Ekhata' (shown below) and follow the online instructions. Do the Aadhaar-based KYC verification,and upload the scanned copy of your BBMP Khata.

How to get e-Khata for properties not listed in the e-Aasthi website.

Search Property Request page on BBMP's e-Aasthi website.

And, also submit the SAS Number mentioned in the BBMP Tax Receipt. (This is a 10-digit number; it is in the top left corner in the box titled Application number:XXXXXXXXXXX, right beside the Bengaluru gopura icon of BBMP's annual tax receipt).

The SAS number will fetch your name with property details, and you can submit it. And, follow the online instructions to get the e-Khata draft and fill out the required information and submit it.

Even if all things fail, don't fret, the Karnataka government has announced to start a home-delivery of draft e-Khata service in Bengaluru starting from July 1, 2025.

Citizens can also avail the government's Janasevaka service by calling 080-49203888 or book a slot on the official website (here).

For doorstep Janasevaka service for e-Khata, the user has to pay an amount of Rs 115. For per-page scanning of a document, they have to pay Rs 5, and for the e-Khata application service, Rs 45 is chargeable by the official.