These are days when the average citizen in our country can look forward to ‘dated’ services from the various government departments. If the time-frame is not adhered to, the officials concerned are liable to be penalised. Let us have a look at the Sakala services in property-related matters. As most of the departments have published their commitment to the time-frame, it is clearly known as to what service will be made available and when.
The origin of these initiatives lies with the Karnataka Guarantee of Services Act, popularly known as the ‘Sakala Services Act’ of 2011’ which came into force from March 1, 2012. ‘Sakala means ‘in time’ or ‘in good time’ which tantamount to fixing deadlines for completing a task.
What are the main services relating to property?
Maintenance of property records and issuance of certificates relating to ownership from time to time are the main services property owners expect from the departments concerned. They also expect prompt disposal of their applications. The main departments concerning property are revenue and engineering.
Property records
The main property records / documents are:
Mother (original) title deeds, like the partition deed, gift deed, grant of land order etc.
Subsequent records of title are the sale deed, or such documents which transfer the title to the subsequent owner/s
Record of Rights or Khata which indicates the name/s of the title holder/s
As for agricultural land, document called ‘pahni’ gives the names of those who carry out farming activities.
Encumbrance certificate which contains details of mortgage and other liabilities
Tax paid certificates, evidencing payment of tax to the revenue authorities
Departments handling the work
The Revenue department handles most of the record-keeping work. The Sub-Registrar’s office accepts sale/gift/partition deed/s and registers them in books. The department also record various liabilities on the property until it is extinguished. The jurisdictional sub-registrar’s office issues copies of transaction deeds and issues encumbrance certificates on specific request. In villages, the panchayat offices maintain the records and collect taxes and other levies. In towns and cities, the municipalities undertake this work.
The Karnataka Sakala Services to Citizens Act, 2011.
The Act prescribes the time-frame for completion of various services by the departments/statutory bodies. As for property-related services, they are broadly as follows, department-wise:
Revenue department
Issue of Record of Rights Certificates: 30 days
Conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes:120 days
Municipalities/BBMP in the case of Bangalore
Registration of buildings: 15 days
Property tax certificates: 15 days
Issue of Khata Certificates/extracts: 3 to 7 days
Sanction of building plans in sites up to 2,400 sq. ft dimension for residential single-dwelling units: 30 days.
BWSSB
Permission for new connections/additional connections for water supply and underground drainage for residential buildings, excluding apartments: 7 days
Permission for new connection/ additional connection for water supply and underground drainage for multi-storeyed buildings: 7 days
BDA
1. Building plan sanction for sites in BDA/ BDA-approved private layouts: 15 days
2. Building plan sanction for sites in BDA / BDA approved private layouts where the height of the building is up to 15 metres: 30 days
3. Building plan sanction for sites in BDA / BDA approved private layouts where the height is above 15 metres: 30 days
4. Issue of possession certificate of site allotted by BDA where the lease-cum-sale agreement is registered: 7 days
5. Issue of khatha: 15 days
6. Issue of occupancy certificates where the building constructed under an approved plan is completed: 12 days
BESCOM
No specific time-frame for any service has been published by it, though additional circle office/s have been established. However, a special feature is the facility for receiving emergency calls from women, which is intended for priority attention to their complaints.
