PNS|Vijayawada
G Sai Prasad, the Special Chief Secretary of Revenue & CCLA, has highlighted significant developments in the State’s registration process. Addressing a press conference on Monday, he said panchayat secretaries have now been granted the authority to facilitate registrations in village secretariats, specifically in areas where the re-survey has been successfully completed. Prasad underscored the importance of these property transactions as valid evidence in a court of law, underlining the pivotal role of this registration process.
The state currently boasts a network of 294 sub-registrar offices in addition to district registrar offices, facilitating these transactions across various regions.
Sai Prasad elaborated on the State government’s innovative approach to revamping the registration system. The overarching objectives of the new system are transparency and enhanced security, providing citizens with peace of mind regarding the integrity of their property transactions.
He acknowledged that the Registration department had undergone computerisation in 1999, with the software developed at that time still in use. While it sufficed in the past, the surge in property registrations, which now reach a staggering 25 lakh per year, necessitated an upgrade. Thus, the government initiated an experimental phase to implement a new registration system equipped with cutting-edge software, drawing inspiration from global best practices. This novel software is designed to generate a model document after inputting property details, and buyer and seller information, streamlining the registration process. Moreover, the system automates stamp duty calculations, ensuring precision based on registration department data, and provides the convenience of a single challan for payment. The system will also automate subdivision and mutation processes, reducing room for errors and inaccuracies.
Sai Prasad emphasised the system’s ability to prevent fraudulent registrations, ensuring that non-existent land cannot be registered. The introduction of slot booking for registrations is set to become an effortless endeavor within this new system.
In line with the Central government’s IT Act of 2000, electronic signatures have been mandatory for documents related to asset transactions for over a year. The system also extends this requirement to the registrar’s signature, further bolstering security. Buyers and sellers can request physical copies of e-stamp paper with electronic signatures, which will be accepted by both courts and banks.
As part of this new registration system, buyers and sellers have the option to enlist the services of document writers. They can collaborate with document writers to prepare documents through the application and register them at sub-registrar offices only when they are fully satisfied. The flexibility of registering with any registrar’s office adds an extra layer of convenience for citizens within this revamped system.
