VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government plans to implement ‘property cards’ for all urban properties as part of a significant land administration reform. This initiative aims to create a single, authenticated record of ownership, reduce property disputes, and enhance transparency in land transactions.
Set to be phased in across municipal corporations, municipalities, and nagar panchayats, the property card initiative will unify revenue, registration, and municipal records into a single digital document for each property.
According to sources, the property card will contain essential details like the owner’s name, survey number, property extent, geographic location, municipal assessment, tax records, and registration specifics. By consolidating information from various departments, the government aims to resolve inconsistencies that often result in litigation and delays during property transactions.
To support this project, the government plans a comprehensive survey of urban properties utilizing advanced technologies such as GIS mapping and geo-referencing for accurate digital records. The revenue, municipal administration, registration, and survey departments will collaborate to verify ownership prior to card issuance.
This property card system primarily targets long-standing ownership disputes in multi-storey apartment complexes, where residents frequently encounter legal issues regarding undivided land shares (UDS), common area ownership, and parking allocations. Under this model, each flat owner will receive an individual property card detailing ownership information, proportional land share, built-up area, and designated parking, thus reducing potential litigation.
A team of senior municipal administration officials has analyzed Maharashtra’s property card model, known for streamlining urban property records and enhancing title clarity. Insights from this analysis will inform the implementation of a similar scheme initially in major cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, and Tirupati, where rapid urbanization and an increase in high-rise buildings have led to more ownership disputes. This initiative is also expected to simplify bank loans, property transfers, inheritance claims, and digital ownership verification through a centralized database managed by multiple departments.
The reform aims to offer citizens verifiable proof of ownership and streamline processes related to property registration, sales, purchases, inheritance, and bank loan applications. Officials anticipate that authenticated digital records will also help prevent fraudulent transactions and multiple ownership claims.
The state government is currently developing the implementation framework and is expected to issue detailed guidelines following inter-departmental consultations. Once initiated, the property card system is set to serve as the official document for verifying ownership of urban properties throughout the state.
