Punjab Govt rolls out ‘Easy Jamabandi’ portal as part of revenue reforms

Days after launching the ‘Easy Registry’ initiative, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, along with national AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, on Thursday rolled out the ‘Easy Jamabandi’ portal as part of the state government’s revenue reforms.

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Terming it a historic step, they said these reforms were aimed at eradicating corrupt practices and thereby the harassment of general public while getting various revenue services.

Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, while addressing mediapersons, said the portal would enable people to avail themselves of five main revenue services — ‘WhatsApp te Jamabandi’, Online Intkal (mutation) Seva, Rapat Entry, Fard Badar (correction of land records) and ‘Subscribe to Your Land Records’. He said the portal would facilitate lakhs of people annually who would not have to make rounds of patwari or Fard centres for obtaining land records.

“There is no need to visit a patwari, stand in queues or pay bribe for land records now. People have to simply go to the ‘Easy Jamabandi’ website, enter their details and they will get a copy of Jamabandi for free and in a time-bound manner,”

said Arora.

The document would be digitally signed and have a QR code, he said, adding that anyone could scan the QR code to verify the land record.

Land records for 99% villages had already been digitised in the state while that of the remaining villages would be done in the next two months, said Arora.

He said with Online Intkal (mutation) Seva portal, mutation would happen automatically within 30 days of deed registration, and in case of inheritance, request for mutation could be submitted online on the ‘Easy Jamabandi’. The mutation would be done within a strict 30-day time limit and WhatsApp updates would be provided to the applicant at every stage of the process, he said. “Every year, 8 lakh mutations are processed (6 lakh via deed registrations and 2 lakh through inheritance) and getting the ownership updated after buying land or inheriting property involved months of running around and hurdles,” he said.

Similarly, Rapat Entry would be made within one day for court orders and within seven days for loans. About Fard Badar, Arora said annually, 60,000 Fard Badar requests were made. “Now, a simple form with the required documents can be submitted online. The application would be processed within 15 days. The nominal application fee for these services can be paid online,” he said.

The Punjab Government has also introduced the “Subscribe to Your Land Records” feature, which would benefit NRIs the most. The landowners can now visit the government website and subscribe to their land records by paying an annual fee of Rs 500 per Khewat (landholding record). This gives them the right to digitally safeguard their land from anywhere in the world. The landowner would be alerted via WhatsApp or email in case of any tempering attempt in their records following which they can immediately raise an objection online, which will be sent directly to the revenue officer concerned.