UPOR not mandatory in Shivamogga and Mangaluru

Its fate in Mysuru is anybody’s guess 

Mysore/Mysuru: The UPOR project is not mandatory in Shivamogga and Mangaluru. On Sept. 9, 2019, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa wrote a letter to Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department and said: “The UPOR project is being implemented in the city of Shivamogga on a pilot basis. Many members of the public have expressed reservations over the project making property cards mandatory for carrying out land transactions.”

After the CM’s letter and despite the Revenue Department insisting that UPOR was working effectively, the ‘mandatory’ clause was removed on Sept. 30, 2019.  The CM’s letter stated: “Since this project is not being implemented in any other city of the State, it is directed that the project can be continued without making the property cards mandatory for land transactions.”

The Revenue Department’s argument that a system like the UPOR project and digitised cards are the only way to save properties on lakes, drains, parks and forest areas was not considered by the Government while relaxing the mandatory provision while registering properties. 

Soon after the Sept. 30 order, BJP MLAs from Mangaluru region announced that the mandatory UPOR card provision was withdrawn from Mangaluru as well. 

Revenue Department Officers, however, say on condition of anonymity that political leaders are not making UPOR mandatory for property registrations fearing protests from those who may have encroached on Government or others’ land and it looks like the Government does not have the courage to tame the real estate lobby.