Bengaluru: In a move that will provide relief to property owners in the city, Greater Bengaluru Municipal Corporation ,BBMP) has abolished the mandatory requirement of encumbrance certificate (EC) for e-account Application.
The decision is designed to streamline the process for property owners by removing the need to obtain EC, which often involves delays and fees of up to Rs 5,000, especially for properties registered before 2004. However, EC will remain a mandatory requirement. For property transactions involving sale and registration.
According to BBMP Special Commissioner (Revenue) Munish Moudgil, the new rule will be effective from Tuesday. “EC will now be required only for sale or registration of property. Since most people are not transacting their properties, we are making EC optional to ease the process. We realized that many people do not have EC. And it is a difficult task to achieve.” ” he explained.
Recently, BBMP made draft e-khata available online for around 22 lakh properties, allowing residents to access their property records. The portal enables applicants to submit documents such as 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 get their e-account from the comfort of their homes, without visiting the Assistant Revenue Office (ARO) at the BBMP ward office.
portal problem
Despite intentions to reduce delays, some residents have reported ongoing challenges with Palike’s online portal, especially for old property registrations. “It took me almost two weeks to get the required EC details for my property, registered in 2002,” said Anita Raj, a resident of Malleshwaram. “When I finally got the document, I found out that its validity expired in a week! I’m still struggling with technical issues on the website.”
Harish Kumar of JP Nagar faced similar difficulties for his property registered in 1985. “Initially, I was asked for the complete EC records from 1985, for which I had to visit both the sub-registrar office and the BBMP office several times. Only with the intervention of higher officials could I finalize the upload,” he said. Said.
Although the BBMP is said to be addressing bugs in the system, Kumar said more rigorous testing would ensure a smoother rollout. “This is a much-needed initiative, but the website still has a lot of room for improvement,” he said.
Five lakh downloads in 24 days
Twenty-four days after BBMP launched the new faceless, contactless online e-khata system, citizens have downloaded nearly 5 lakh draft e-khata. The platform – available at www(dot)bbmpeAasthi(dot)karnataka(dot)gov(dot)in – has received nearly 40 lakh site visits, indicating significant public interest.
Before launching the system for the pilot run, BBMP digitized data on 21 lakh properties under its jurisdiction. So far, 23% of property owners in Bengaluru have accessed their e-accounts. BBMP Special Commissioner Munish Moudgil said that downloads are expected to increase with the removal of EC option.
Once this adjustment is complete, the civic body will launch a door-to-door campaign to educate citizens about the benefits and accessibility of e-accounts.
