E-Khata will ensure transparency, ease of property transactions

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike(BBMP) will soon be introducing e-Khata or e-Aasthi created by state e-governance department and NIC (National Informatics Center), which will help property buyers to upload all property documents and Aadhar number online to apply for Khatas from BBMP. The digitally signed Khata certificates will be generated within a month and sent to property buyers.

A Digilocker will store all the documents which will be bar coded and signed digitally. This significant move by BBMP will prevent property related frauds since the e-Khata will have the photograph of the property owner and lot of other information stored digitally. Not only that, access to property documents will now be available at the click of a button.

"Once a property is registered and has been verified the automated system should take care of this. Minimum human interference is the need of the hour and will enable property investors to have the comfort of one painful step being eliminated. We are looking forward to the Government taking more such proactive customer friendly steps. These steps certainly provide relief to the real-estate sector," says Suresh Hari, Chairman, CREDAI Bengaluru.

Khata serves as an important document while trying to obtain a loan from a bank or a building/trade license. Khata contains all necessary data regarding a piece of land and is, therefore, an account assessment of the property. Hence the move by BBMP to go digital will be a boon.

"The digitization of the Khata process is a step in the right direction for the real estate industry. It will enhance the convenience of record keeping and accessibility for the home owners," feels C N Govindaraju, Chairman & Managing Director, Vaishnavi Group.

The BBMP started this as a pilot project in 3 wards sometime last year and now plans to introduce this in 100 wards within the next 1 month.

"E-Khata certificates will introduce both transparency and ease in the lives of property owners as long queues, physical paperwork and multiple visits to the Sub- Registrar office have long been a deterrent for home owners. Faster Khata issuances will also give the state government more accurate, home ownership records," concurs Monica Matthias, Director, Hoysala Projects.

"The introduction of e-Khata will eliminate corruption, will be efficient and overall reduce bureaucratic involvement and make purchase of property simpler and faster," avers Errol Fernandes, Chairman & Managing Director, Ferns Estates.

The site will also facilitate owners to update their property documents and information pertaining to sale, inheritance, gift, will etc. In case any of your forms are rejected, you will be contacted by an officer.

"This will be game changing. The process gets streamlined massively which will encourage and drive the real estate market to grow at a much faster pace," concludes Arunchandra Jupalli, Business Head (South), Home First Finance Company India Ltd.