Property cards: no more mandatory in Shivamogga

The Revenue Department on Monday put on hold the requirement for property owners to produce their property registration (PR) cards during the registration of immovable assets in Shivamogga city, - a measure seen as Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa succumbing to pressure from his party leaders.

According to an order issued by the department, the relaxation will be applicable until the next order. Mandating PR cards to register properties has met with opposition from locals, organisations and the media, due to which the norms have been relaxed until the shortcomings in Urban Property Ownership Record (UPOR) are addressed, the order read.

It can be recalled that a recent report on DH had highlighted that “vested interests” were pushing hard to discontinue the UPOR project in Shivamogga city limits citing inconvenience to property owners. Shivamogga MP B Y Raghavendra had said that they had urged the government to stop mandating the submission of property cards during the time of registration until PR cards are issued to all property owners.

The officials had contended that the project, contrary to claims, had benefited all property owners and only 11 applications seeking issuance of PR cards were pending in city limits and around 10,000 cards had been issued in the last four years.