BENGALURU: In a move that brings relief to property owners in the city, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has eliminated the mandatory requirement of an encumbrance certificate (EC) for e-khata applications.
This decision is set to streamline the process by removing the need for property owners to obtain an EC, which often involves delays and fees of up to Rs 5,000, particularly for properties registered before 2004. However, the EC will continue to be a mandatory requirement for property transactions involving sale and registration.
According to Munish Moudgil, special commissioner (revenue), BBMP, the new rule will be effective from Tuesday. “EC will now be necessary only for property sale or registration. Since most people aren’t transacting their properties, we’re making EC optional to ease the process. We realised many don’t have EC and procuring it is a difficult task,” he explained.
Recently, BBMP made draft e-khatas available online for nearly 22 lakh properties, allowing residents to access their property records. The portal enables applicants to submit documents such as the registered deed number, Aadhaar e-KYC, self-assessment scheme (SAS) application number, and a property photograph to finalize the e-khata. This initiative allows residents to obtain their e-khatas from the comfort of their homes, without visiting the assistant revenue office (AROs) at the BBMP ward office.
Portal problems
Despite the intention to reduce delays, some residents have reported ongoing challenges with the Palike’s online portal, especially for older property registrations. “It took me about two weeks to get the required EC extract for my property registered in 2002,” revealed Anitha Raj, a resident of Malleswaram. “When I finally got the document, I got to know its validity ended in a week! I’m still struggling with technical issues on the website.”
Harish Kumar from JP Nagar encountered similar difficulties for his property registered in 1985. “Initially, I was asked for a complete EC record from 1985, which required me to visit both the sub-registrar’s office and the BBMP office multiple times. Only with the intervention of higher officials could I finalise the upload,” he said.
Although BBMP is said to be addressing bugs in the system, Kumar said more rigorous testing would have ensured a smoother rollout. “It is a much-needed initiative, but the website still has enough room for improvement,” he said.
Five lakh downloads in 24 days
Twenty-four days after BBMP introduced the new faceless, contactless online e-khata system, citizens have downloaded nearly 5 lakh draft e-khatas. The platform — accessible at www(dot)bbmpeAasthi(dot)karnataka(dot)gov(dot)in — has received around 40 lakh site visits, showcasing significant public interest.
Before launching the system for a pilot run, BBMP digitised data on 21 lakh properties under its jurisdiction. So far, 23% of property owners in Bengaluru have accessed their e-khatas. BBMP special commissioner Munish Moudgil said the downloads are expected to rise with the removal of the EC option.
Once this adjustment is complete, the civic body will initiate a door-to-door campaign to further educate citizens about the benefits and accessibility of e-khatas.
