No takers for information kiosks

Nobody touches hi-tech screens at registrar offices
Times of India

Bangalore: Touch-screen kiosks cry out for attention in sub-registrar offices across the state. No one uses these state-of-the-art computers that were installed amidst much fanfare in 2003 as an e-governance initiative. Touch-screen kiosks were installed at the subregistrar offices to cut corruption by increasing transparency and to demystify the working of the department.

The kiosk at Gandhinagar was not working and only after a complaint by The Times of India to the PRO of the Inspector-General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps, the computer was made functional. The engineer said someone had cut the power cables supplying power to these machines. And no one from the subregistrar office had bothered to complain.

At Gandhinagar sub-registrar office, sub-registrar Chicka Pedanna blamed CMS Computers who had installed the machine and who are in-charge of maintenance. “Why should we complain, they should come everyday and ensure it is working well.” A maintenance engineer from CMS Computers said, “No one uses these machines.” That is the sad truth. No one uses them. Chickapedanna suggests, “The people are to be blamed for not using it.”

In other places too — like Peenya, Rajajinagar, Domlur, K.R. Puram, Yelahanka, Koramangala, Basavanagudi, Jayanagar, Kengeri — these machines lie in a sad state of disuse. These computers contain a lot of information including the sale deed formats and different types of deeds, application forms, the market values across the entire state, registration fees, the Acts and rules and the actual process of registration.

Lawyer I.M. Devaiah, who handles about 50-100 registrations every month said, “No one uses them because nothing new is available here. What is there is available here in books. Most registration deals are handled by advocates or agents none of whom need to take recourse to these kiosks.”

Sources who did not wish to be named said, “Every registration carries a price. The sub-registrar’s agents charge between Rs 2,500 to up to a few lakhs per deal depending on the value of the property and the type of violation. Most deals have a small degree of violation and both the payer and receiver are mutually happy. So where is the need for these touch-screen machines. Two hundred and twenty touch screen machines mean more than Rs 2.2 crore investment.”

Lokayukta N. Venkatachala has a solution, “We must have someone who will help the information seeker get the information. This could be of some use. We will ensure that such a measure is taken up.”