Glaring anomalies in UPOR Survey: Mysuru’s 46,000 properties do not have valid records

UPOR Project Head and Town Planning Project Officer V. Ajjappa at his Chambers in city.

Mysore/Mysuru: Over 46,000 property owners in Mysuru do not have proper registration records to claim their ownership of their landed properties. This shocking revelation has come to fore after the property survey under Urban Property Ownership Record (UPOR) has been completed. 

Under UPOR, in all, 3,23,616 properties have been surveyed and documents have been collected for 2,18,900 properties. Of these properties, over 46,000 properties have no proper or valid documents. The process of document collection for the remaining 1,04,716 properties is underway. 

UPOR is a landmark project in Karnataka to create digitised, geo-referenced and unique identity records for property in urban areas, and issue property cards to owners. It was launched in 2014 in Mysuru, Shivamogga and Mangaluru on a pilot basis. The objective: Prevent cheating in land deals and protect Government land from fraudsters.

Under the project, properties in Mysuru city and the surrounding 42 villages that are attached to the city areas have been surveyed and the properties include not only private but also Government properties. While doing survey, over 46,000 property owners have handed over improper and invalid records for their properties and this came to light when the properties were collated to be added into the UPOR system. 

Rs. 5 or Rs. 10 stamp papers 

Most of these 46,000 properties have the records of land transfers and registrations mentioned in Rs. 5 or Rs. 10 stamp papers which do not have legal standing. These properties have been kept out of UPOR as the documents are invalid, UPOR Project Head and Town Planning Project Officer V. Ajjappa told Star of Mysore. 

Owners of those properties that have valid documents can obtain Property Record (PR) cards from the UPOR office. The card comes with a cadastral map, with complete details about the property and digital signatures.

“After property owners submit documents to obtain PR cards, our Officers will start enquiries and they will depend on our survey records. Later, a draft PR card is prepared with respect to that particular property. After the 9-page draft is ready, a 33-day window is given for filing objections. If there are no objections, a 6-page final PR card is prepared and will be issued to the property owner. Rs. 250 has been fixed for a property with 30X40 dimensions, he explained. 

Till now, of the 3,23,616 properties surveyed, draft PR cards for 1,72,837 have been prepared and 1,61,191 draft PR cards issued. 1,08,548 final PR cards are ready to be issued and 49,439 final PR cards  issued. “We have completed the process of survey in 2012 itself and now we have to take up the survey of the new layouts and buildings that have come up after 2012,” he added. 

Picture shows the entrance to UPOR Office.

Authentic legal document 

PR card is the first and only authentic legal document of the ownership of the property and is proof of the ownership. The card contains scale map, extent and other details including encumbrances and mortgage of the property. Hence, all the details of the property are available in a single document. The property is geo-referenced and thus owners can view the property map online.

The technology used in UPOR to survey properties is Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS), which is far superior to the ones used by Survey Department earlier. UPOR is a significant project intended to reduce legal disputes over property ownership.  Prospective buyers, who are often at the risk of falling prey to fraud, will be benefited as most of the time they are uncertain about the ownership of property they intend to purchase. In future, the Government may make UPOR or PR cards mandatory in the process of registration of properties, Ajjappa added. 

What is UPOR?

Similar to RTC for rural properties, UPOR is ownership records for properties in urban areas. UPOR consists of various other details such as shape and the area of property and various encumbrances on the property like bank loans etc.

Under this project, every property will have correct information about the land and Record of Rights.  The information about the owner, dimensions of the property, the directions of the property (whether it is a north facing or south facing site), and other accurate details will be provided. 

Key benefits

1. Bank will be certain property belongs to buyer and gives loan.

2. Courts will dispose of property-related cases.

3. Municipality Corporations will have comprehensive database.

4. Property card will also have exact GPS coordinates of each property, helping owner find out corners of his property on the ground even after hundreds of years.

How to apply for UPOR?

UPOR project has been implemented in Mysuru under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in association with SECON Consultants. The properties have been divided into different categories like, MUDA, Gram Tana, Ashraya Layout and other ones. Based on the category which it comes under, one can apply for UPOR.

For details of obtaining UPOR application and final certificate, one can visit the website www.upor.karnataka.gov.in

One can personally visit the UPOR Office near Government Guest House, Nazarbad, Mysuru-570001 or call Ph: 0821-2434540.

This post was published on December 23, 2020 6:40 pm