Norms eased for land registration

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 24

Financial Commissioner, Revenue (FCR), Vini Mahajan has said it is no longer mandatory to bring along “numberdar” as a witness during the registration of property at sub-registrar offices. Instead, the applicants can produce two witnesses, provided they furnish their identity proof.

The FCR said this during her tour to Jalandhar and Adampur today. The online land registration started in the two cities last week.

At Adampur, she said an applicant told her that his property could not be registered as the “numberdar” was unwell.

“When a ‘numberdar’ or a councillor is out of station or unavailable, I have instructed revenue officers not to delay the registration of property,” Mahajan told the media here.

“In the past one week, 82 properties have been registered online in Adampur and Moga. To check fraud in the sale of property, the state government is planning to introduce e-KYC (Know Your Customer) through Aadhaar card,” the FCR said.

This, she said, would not only curb fraud, but also help identify parties involved in buying and selling of property, providing relief to NRIs and elderly persons, who are generally victims of fraud.

Mahajan said the state government would frame a new regularisation policy by next month. “The inter-department consultations in this connection are at a final stage. The draft of the policy will be presented before the Cabinet for approval next month.”

To another query, Mahajan said the final draft of building rules had already been uploaded on the government’s website. “The state has laid thrust on ensuring public safety, especially in view of the fire incident in Ludhiana. The rules will be finalised by next month,” she said.

The FCR added the Revenue Department would recruit about 1,000 patwaris soon.