BENGALURU: On Wednesday, the assembly approved the Registration (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2025, enabling online registration of government-allotted land parcels with the sub-registrar’s digitized signature, eliminating the need for human involvement.
The legislation also facilitates online registration for mortgage properties tied to bank loans and their release upon repayment. However, for transactions between private parties, the current requirement for the seller and buyer to be present before a sub-registrar remains unchanged.
Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who introduced the bill, highlighted that the goal is to streamline the registration process electronically for secure properties, including those allocated by agencies like the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Authority (KIADB). This registration will additionally encompass title deeds issued by tahsildars under government schemes like ‘bagar hukum’.
“The digitized signature system applies to three property categories: land allotted by agencies like BDA, land rights issued by tahsildars, and pledge entries and releases in nationalized banks. The existing registration process for other categories will continue as before,” Gowda explained.
Gowda stated that the reform was initiated to address widespread fraud in property registration, often involving bogus documents like manual khata. The amendment aims to automate procedural updates, such as loan closures in the Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC), to reduce delays and human error.
“We implemented e-khata to prevent registration based on counterfeit documents,” Gowda remarked. “While the High Court has ruled that physical document verification by the sub-registrar is unnecessary, it took 14 months to secure presidential approval for our amendment. We’re introducing registration via the sub-registrar’s digitized signature to make the process more user-friendly.”
Opposition members supported the bill but emphasized the necessity for robust IT infrastructure. They raised concerns about issues with e-khata services in entities like Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). BJP member SR Viswanath also urged the government to include Ashraya houses and other housing initiatives for the underprivileged in the digital registration framework.
BJP’s S. Suresh Kumar expressed frustration over the current e-khata system, stating, “People are frustrated as local officials claim the server is down. The government must ensure adequate IT infrastructure to prevent harassment and corruption.”
Recounting an unusual incident, Kumar said, “A chief minister from a neighboring state once used a railway platform as collateral for a loan from a cooperative bank.”
In response to these concerns, Gowda referred to a case of an individual attempting to pledge Vidhana Soudha and assured that efforts are underway to enhance IT systems for better e-khata service delivery.
