BENGALURU: Karnataka high court on Friday sought a response from the state govt to a PIL plea challenging a circular dated Sept 17, 2024 making e-khata mandatory for property registration.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind gave this direction after hearing petitioner S Gowrishankar, a resident of Bengaluru.
The petitioner told the court that after the issuance of said circular, there was a 60% fall in registration of properties in the city. “The BBMP‘s e-Aasthi rollout encountered multiple operational challenges, including a lack of clarity on the process, insufficient coverage across wards, and various implementation delays. These issues have created a backlog of property transactions and limited the intended benefits of digital property records for the citizens,” the petitioner stated.
According to him, the circular imposing e-khata as a precondition for registration without addressing these gaps introduces significant challenges for property owners, as e-khatas aren’t accessible to many of them.
The petitioner prayed to the court that as an interim measure, the e-khata rule for property registration be relaxed. He also sought a direction to the authorities that the mandate of e-khata is enforced only after BBMP confirms that all existing properties have been issued with e-khatas, and a time-bound process has been established for the registration of new properties or amendment to existing khatas.
The petitioner also sought a direction to create categories that allow the registration of properties without e-Swathu or e-Aasthi based on a self-declaration form from the applicant.
“These categories should include instances where e-Swathu or e-Aasthi isn’t yet enabled, cases wherein an application has been submitted but the requisite documents haven’t yet been issued, or where alternative valid property documents are available,” the petitioner said.
E-Swathu is a portal that maintains the latest records of ownership and physical details of properties under each gram panchayat (GP) dominion, whereas e-Aasthi is a property tax information system.
Further, directions have been sought to the urban development department to establish a transparent and streamlined application process for obtaining e-Swathu or e-Aasthi, ensuring property owners are able to receive the requisite documents within stipulated timelines. A direction is also sought for bringing the services for obtaining e-Swathu and e-Aasthi under Sakala Act.
