Kolkata: For the first time in the country, the Mamata Banerjee government has introduced online registration of property deeds, at a time when people cannot move out of their houses due to the lockdown situation.
The facility will be available from April 20 and the state government is allowing a reduction of 20 percent on the applicable registration fees with a ceiling of maximum Rs 20,000 till May 31.
The decision in this regard has been taken in the cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna Sabhaghar on Thursday.
The decision has been taken considering that people are not able to register their property deeds due to the ongoing lockdown that has been imposed to check the spread of COVID-19.
Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said: "The step has been taken to help people undertake registration of property deeds when they cannot come out of their houses."
Explaining the process of e-registration of property deeds, Sinha said: "People can complete the entire process of deed submission online by sitting at their own location through e-deed module of Registration Directorate and the property will be duly registered."
An applicant will be getting a digital certificate after completion of the online process. Later, the registered deed will be delivered on priority basis upon completion of biometrics after the lockdown is over.
It has also been stated in a Press communique that "in case of bulk registration, an officer of the Registration Directorate will go to the place of the registrant on selected date and time and he will complete the registration and deliver the deeds."
According to an official, the state government had been receiving information that several people were facing problem as registration of property cannot be undertaken due to the ongoing lockdown.
Soon after receiving such information, the state government had started taking necessary steps so that the facility can be provided even during the lockdown. A set of officers of the Bengal government started working on the same and developed the mechanism of introducing e-registration of property deeds.
At the same time, the state government has decided to provide further relief to common people by ensuring a relaxation of 20 percent with a maximum ceiling of Rs 20,000 when they are facing various problems due to the lockdown situation.
It will also ensure revenue generation for the state government's exchequer as fees for property registration counts for a good percentage of the state's revenue earning, an official said.