The authorities are confident of issuing nearly 1 lakh draft Property Register (PR) cards in the city under Urban Property Ownership Record (UPOR) project by October this year.
This is in addition to nearly 1.56 lakh draft PR cards prepared by the project authorities that have already been issued to the registered property owners and is reckoned to be a step forward in streamlining property records in urban areas.
Prasad Kulkarni, in charge of UPOR in Mysuru, told The Hindu that out of 3.19 lakh properties surveyed under the project, 1.56 lakh draft PR Cards have already been prepared and 74,000 final PR Cards have been issued so far. The draft PR cards with respect to about 1 lakh properties will be ready by October, he added.
Launched in 2010
The UPOR was launched as a pilot project in Mysuru in 2010 and is reckoned to be a solution to end fraudulent land transactions. It entails adopting a system of documentation through GIS-based survey and mapping the land with spatial details, documenting mutation if any in the property records, ownership details, etc., all of which would be embedded in the PR card.
This, the government had stated at the time of initiating the project, would be the final and only legally valid document with respect to urban property ownership and akin to RTC for agricultural lands.
But for almost eight years since the launch of the project, there was confusion and even questions over its legal status as PR cards were not made mandatory for registration of property ownership, securing bank loans, etc. Besides, technical service providers – roped into the project under the PPP model – ran into rough weather with the Revenue Department over financial issues and the matter is in court.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to vest the responsibility of maintaining the UPOR registry with the technical personnel manning Bhoomi, the State government’s land record management system. Hence, the project has received a fillip and is on a mission mode, according to Mr. Kulkarni.
Questionable status
“But out of nearly 3.19 lakh properties in the city, there are about 60,000 properties with dubious records whose legal status is questionable as they have either encroached government land or the property documents are not in order. Though the survey and spatial details of these properties were done and available, final PR cards with respect to them will not be issued unless there was clearance from the government,” said Mr. Kulkarni.
This has irked a section of elected representatives and the former Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa, has raised fresh objections to the UPOR project and questioned its legality. He also wondered whether the government would demolish the nearly 60,000 properties whose status was not legally tenable. But Mr. Kulkarni said it was not in their domain and they were only vested with the responsibility of issuing the PR cards.
Land reclaimed
Since its inception, the UPOR has helped the authorities reclaim nearly 300 acres of government land encroached by private persons.
Though not yet compulsory for land transactions, the project office in the city receives nearly 40 to 50 queries from the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), sub-registrar’s office, and banks regarding the legal status of properties whose legal status tends to be disputed.