BENGALURU: Property owners, already grappling with a flawed and inefficient online system for obtaining e-khatas, have been dealt another blow: They’ll now be forced to pay anywhere between Rs 200 and Rs 250 at Bangalore One citizen service centres to get their hands on the document.
The breakdown of this cost is as follows: Rs 125 to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for issuing the e-khata, Rs 45 as service fee to the Bangalore One centre, and an extra Rs 5 per page for scanning documents, which includes absolute sale deed and half-a-dozen other important papers.
In fact, the Rs 125 per e-khata was introduced four years ago when BBMP undertook a pilot project of e-khatas in Shantinagar constituency.
BBMP said Tuesday that property owners seeking the document will have to pay a fee of Rs 125. Given that the civic body itself had declared that over 21 lakh draft e-khatas have been released online for “anyone to download anytime and anywhere”, it is now eyeing mopping up at least Rs 26 crore from e-khata fee alone.
BBMP officials claim the fee structure aims to streamline the document acquisition process while reducing reliance on middlemen. However, the announcement comes amid a flood of complaints from property owners that are finding it difficult to get their e-khatas online, and BBMP officials admitting to software issues.
While announcing the e-khata fee, BBMP also said e-khatas can be obtained in assisted mode at Bangalore One centres, for which property owners will have to pay Rs 45 as processing fee to the centre and Rs 5 per page for document scanning. The Rs 125 fee, according to officials, is intended to make the process transparent and more efficient.
“There was always a fee involved in acquiring this document; it’s not a free service,” said Munish Moudgil, special commissioner for revenue, BBMP. “The fee ensures property owners can get their documents easily without needing to rely on assistant revenue officers (AROs) or middlemen, who might have charged them Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh,” he told TOI.
While some residents are comfortable paying for the convenience, others are questioning the need for the additional charges, given they pay existing property taxes. “I’m fine with paying Rs 175 if it means I avoid hassles with middlemen or AROs, but will I really be able to get the document immediately? That is doubtful,” said Krithika Arora, a Koramangala resident.
Rajesh Naik, a resident of Jayanagar, echoed the frustration felt by many. “Since we already pay property taxes, shouldn’t BBMP provide this document for free?” he asked. “We’re getting charged for everything, yet the city still lacks basic infrastructure. Our taxes should cover this instead of burdening us further.”
Anil Sharma, a resident of Indiranagar, said: “It feels unfair to pay twice. The property tax we pay is supposed to fund civic services, so why do we need an extra charge for something as essential as e-khata?”
