GBA defends e-khata system, says illegal property registrations dropped sharply

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has defended the rollout of the e-khata system and its integration with the Kaveri registration platform, stating that the reform has improved transparency and legality in Bengaluru’s property management while drastically reducing registrations involving unauthorised properties.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner (Revenue and IT), GBA, alleged that “misinformation” about the system was being spread by vested interests that benefited from the earlier manual and opaque process.

According to Moudgil, nearly 85 per cent of property transactions entering the Kaveri system before the integration of e-khata involved unauthorised layouts, illegal revenue sites, unapproved mutations or defective ownership records.

In 2024-25 alone, more than 75,000 such transactions were recorded prior to the integration, he said.

However, after the system was introduced on October 1, 2024, such transactions “reduced to almost zero”, he claimed.

He said the e-khata framework has statutory backing under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, the Registration Act, and allied planning laws.

He also clarified that duly registered sale deeds, gift deeds, inheritance documents and other lawful conveyances continue to be recognised, while mutations based on registered documents are increasingly being automated to reduce delays and corruption.

The GBA noted that manual khata registers were previously inaccessible and heavily dependent on local officials, creating scope for manipulation. Under the new system, property records have been digitised and made publicly accessible through the BBMP e-Aasthi portal.

Officials also pointed out that several writ petitions challenging the e-khata integration had come before the high court and that the framework had been upheld in those cases.

Defending the reform, Moudgil said the resistance largely stemmed from the disruption of “opaque systems” that allegedly benefited middlemen, illegal layout operators, document manipulators and speculative real-estate practices.

On grievances related to the disposal of e-khata applications, GBA officials urged citizens to make use of the weekly ‘Open House’ initiative, where all e-khata-related services are provided under one roof.