Get encumbrance papers at a click

Get encumbrance papers at a click
E-Governance To Reduce Week-Long Procedure To Only A Few Minutes

Times of India

Bangalore: Even though Bangalore’s infrastructure has taken a beating, it could be said to be on track on the e-governance front. Six months down the line, citizens of Bangalore, seeking encumbrance certificates for registration or transfer of property, can have the same in a minutes as against the present week-long wait.

Pilot projects were executed with the computerisation of data pertaining to 400 properties in Bangalore. “There are 86 lakh documents pertaining to properties in Bangalore with their transaction history going back to 15 years. We are hopeful of making this data operational by June,’’ C. Krishnappa, inspector-general of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps, told The Times of India.

Presently, one applies for encumbrance certificate by filling a form along with description of property in the concerned sub-registrar’s office. Any transactions on the property during the period specified by the person, will be reflected in the certificate issued.

A fee of Rs 25 for every year, for which details are sought, is charged. But the entire process takes a week as the “property’s history’’ has to be collated from various files. “Once the new system comes into operation, an encumbrance certificate can be issued within 10-15 minutes,’’ Krishnappa said.

The exercise is part of Kaveri (Karnataka Valuation and e-Registration), a reorientation programme of the Department of Registrations and Stamps towards 100 per cent automation.

Krishnappa said the encumbrance certificate is a vital document. Unlike in Maharashtra, people in Karnataka do not avail the services of an advocate for transactions in the sub-registrar’s office. In Maharashtra, the advocate takes charge of client’s case and does a thorough investigation on whether the property has been previously encumbered.

Stamp paper a thing of past?
Karnataka’s legislation seeking to discontinue the use of stamp paper (which was mooted following the stamp paper scam) is awaiting the President’s assent. A clarifications had been sought which have been cleared by the government.