• OTP-based property registration a painfully slow process
• Unresponsive server, software snags inconvenience citizens 

By M.T. Yogesh Kumar

Mysore/Mysuru: The new One-Time Password (OTP)- based system of property registrations rolled out on Feb. 5 by the Department of Stamps and Registration for all property registrations through Kaveri software is inconveniencing property owners, sellers and also officials. Reason: Painfully slow software, unresponsive server and a host of glitches in the newly-developed software. 

As a result, property registrations have slowed down in entire Mysuru district with people crowding in front of counters at Sub-Registrar’s Office. Some are made to stand for hours holding their property documents while officials grapple with errors on their computers without having any clue on how to solve the issues. Public are told that server is down and only a handful registrations could be done at any given day. 

Problem from day one

The problem with the software was noticed on day one (Feb.5) when the system was rolled out and till now, the issue has not been sorted out. As a result, the precious Government revenue is lost with many people shying away from buying and selling properties. Property registration is a major revenue-grosser for the Government. 

The OTP-based system was introduced to prevent any attempts at impersonation and forgery of documents and has been made mandatory for all property registrations in the State. The initiative is aimed at preventing impersonation and other irregularities during property registration. 

Security feature update

OTP-based security feature acts as a solid proof in the event of any attempts at impersonation or forgery of land documents. The system will alert the buyer and seller and also the authorities manning the Kaveri software if any fraudulent transaction takes place in the future. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Bengaluru has developed the software. 

However, as soon as the system was rolled out across all the Sub-Registrar Offices, officers encountered glitches while operating the Kaveri software. Error messages are displayed on the ‘6.8 patch’ whenever the documents or phone numbers are uploaded into the software and the process drags on for hours. 

The slow pace of registrations has left many farmers, property buyers and sellers disappointed. The glitches have also proved to be a headache for the staff at Sub-Registrar Offices. In city, heavy rush is usually witnessed at Sub-Registrar’s Offices on Dr. Rajkumar Road (East), Mini Vidhana Soudha at Nazarbad (North), near Vijayanagar Water Tank (West) and near Ramakrishnanagar Circle (South). Now with the new system, there is furthermore chaos and confusion.   

Registration numbers dip

Sub-Registrar Offices registered zero transactions following which the new system was abruptly stopped till Feb.10. Now again the software is facing snags. The technical glitches are attributed to server breakdown and other faults in the network. 

Prior to the introduction of OTP-based registration, about 80 to 90 property transactions used to take place on an average everyday at all Sub-Registrar Offices in city. But now this figure has dropped to 20 to 30, because of time-consuming process. As such, people are forced to wait for long hours after getting their tokens. Apart from property registrations, the OTP system is used for making Podi, partition of properties, availing loans on agricultural lands, registering agreements and such other transactions related to farm lands.

Public reaction

M.A. Kamala Anantharamu, a resident of Kurubarahalli, said that although the rationale behind the introduction of the new OTP system was good, the process is time-consuming. “Although the Government has made Aadhaar linking mandatory for most of its schemes, it is surprising to note that the Government is yet to link Aadhaar for property registration,” she said. 

S.N. Rajesh, a resident of Banumaiah Chowk, said that property buyers and sellers can get OTP number upon feeding of their valid mobile phone number. “This system has many shortcomings too as it is prone to deceit by fraudsters. As such, the best way is to link Aadhaar with property registrations,” he said.