To bring transparency and convenience for homebuyers, the Punjab government had rolled out a pilot project for online property registration in Amritsar.

Facts :

• Punjab will be the first state to go digital in property registration,when the Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, launches the National Generic Document Registration System in Amritsar through video conferencing.
• Barely eight months after its launch at Moga and Adampur in November last the Chief Minister’s pilot project of giving transparent and corruption-free governance in online property registration has been successfully implemented in 21 districts (162 sub-registrar offices).
• So far 90486 documents had been registered through the cloud-based National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS).
• The online property registration facility had been created in the NGDRS portal, which had been running successfully in 21 districts of SAS Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, Faridkot, Pathankot, Kapurthala, Bathinda, Fazilka, Patiala, SBS Nagar, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Ferozepur, Mansa, Barnala, Gurdaspur, Moga, Sangrur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran and Ludhiana.
• It is to be noted that the system is running seamlessly at only tehsil level in Moga and the sub-tehsil level at Adampur in Jalandhar where it was administered as trial run on November 17 last year.
• The Online Property Registration System is very simple and citizen friendly, which provides an online interface to the citizens to enter data related to Registration and uploading of property documents 24X7.
• It enables automatic calculation of Stamp Duty, Registration fees and other fees based on Collector Rates.
• The citizens receive SMS alerts at Data Submission, Appointment and Completion of Registration,eliminating the scope of fraud.
• Further, the online appointment system gives flexibility to the citizens to
  choose their date of appointment for the registration. Template documents are placed online to reduce dependency on Deed Writers.
• Also, the entry of AADHAR number of the buyer and seller further checks fraudulent deals. The real-time report generation as well as capturing of photos are other features of the system.
• Besides, Sub-Registrars are subjected to biometric authentication to negate frauds. It also provides for linking of land records with the registration process
• ‘Tatkal' system of appointment would also be launched soon.

Analysis :

• This people-friendly paperless transaction has been lapped up by the people as it increases transparency in the property registration process.
• It is also a clear indication of the people’s faith in the Chief Minister’s promise to provide hassle-free services to them.
• The switch-over from manual to online property registration has been smooth, consumer confidence has increased and the project is making a clear headway.
• The new property registration system has been implemented keeping in mind the cyber security, and to keep a check on fraudulent deals through biometric authentication.
• The new process would eliminate the possibility of the citizens being misled on the collector rates, various exemptions and their calculation method.
• The thorough review of the system suggests that it is an apt time to implement the system across all the 22 districts.
• Modalities are being worked out for the same and after meeting the due infrastructural and technical requirements the State will hopefully bid adieu to the age-old cumbersome property registration process and emerge as a frontrunner at the National level.