Passport-style seva kendras across Bengaluru for e-khata processing

Bengaluru: The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will open passport-style seva kendras for easy processing of e-khatas, Tushar Girinath, additional chief secretary, urban development department, announced on Saturday. 

Of the nearly 21 lakh properties in the city, owners of only 8.2 lakh have applied for e-khatas. There is a need to get more property owners to apply for it, he said.

“BangaloreOne centres are trying to handhold people to apply for e-khata. However, they are also overworked and might not have time to help many of them. Hence, 10 passport-style seva kendras will be opened in each zone,” Girinath said. 

He said a special surveillance team had been formed to keep a watch on officials who do not process the applications fast.  “We will also check all rejected applications to ensure that they are not unnecessarily rejected,” he added. The ACS said measures were being taken to prevent harassment of people. 

In addition, only 3,252 applications have been received for conversion of ‘B’ khata to ‘A’ khata, which officials attribute to a lack of awareness and confusion among people. 

“Residents need to know that they first need to get an e-khata for their property and then apply for conversion. Many of them do not know about this and hence, there is confusion. We will try to create more awareness,” Girinath said.