BANGALORE: Make sure you have all property documents in order before survey department officials knock on your doors for registration under Urban Property Ownership Record (UPOR) process.

A first in India, the project seeks to streamline the ownership registration of urban properties and will kick off soon in Bangalore. It envisages issuing Property Record (PR) cards to property owners.

The cards will serve as the only authorized ownership record and have everything from the property sketch to its liabilities to its nature and identity of ownership.

Over 20 lakh properties in Bangalore will be covered under this project. The first phase covers 50 wards in Rajmahal Guttahalli, Sanjaynagar, Malleswaram , Vasantnagar, Yeshwantpur , Gayatrinagar, Rajajinagar, Vijayanagar, Jayanagar East, Siddapura and Yediyur. Tendering is under way for surveying and property document verification process.

What will PR card have?

A PR card will have details on property liabilities, sketch, map, boundary disputes, details on lease deed and the type of ownership The card will also have details on the right of way, light and air PR card is different from khata, which is a tax-paid certificate The PR-issuing process to involve leading banks so that property liabilities are up to date

Property cards to eliminate frauds

Ambitious Project Will Computerize Details Of 20 Lakh Properties In Bangalore

Survey settlement commissioner V Ponnuraj, also joint secretary to the chief minister, told TOI that the PR card will be a legitimate document based on which buyers can take a decision.

The UPOR will also entail computerization of all details of properties in the city and will go a long way in checking property frauds.

Tushar Girinath, secretary, land and UPOR, said every property owner should possess a PR card, which will instill belief and enhance confidence in conveying procedures like lease or sale.

Bangalore has grown exponentially in the past few decades. With its population surging, villages on the border of the city are being converted into urban spaces. But such properties are the root cause of much confusion. According to a survey, land is at the heart of major disputes in the city. A PR card will provide owners of all properties in the city security and safety by eliminating frauds, Girinath said.

Unravelling UPOR project

Urban Property Ownership Record aims to streamline registration of urban properties The project will cover over 20 lakh properties in Bangalore; first phase to cover 50 wards With computerization of property details, project aims to check frauds

PR cards to be mandatory

Once the UPOR is put in place, no registration process can be done without handing over the PR card pertaining to the property the buyer. '' Sub-registrars will have to facilitate the buyers to take a look at the PR card to have all details about the property, its ownership, exact area of land and liability on the property if any. If the property is in revenue pockets where agricultural land has been used for non-agricultural purpose without obtaining land conversion permission, we will still issue the PR cards. But the remarks section will mention the violation of land usage. If someone is in the process of buying such properties, s/he can get to know more about the property under remarks section . Nothing can be hidden from the buyer,'' said V Ponnuraj, commissioner, survey settlement , and joint secretary to the CM.

To get the PR card, the owner must provide the khata issued by the local body, registration certificate issued by the stamps and registration department and related documents during the draft PR card verification process. Those who do not possess the said documents will have trouble in getting PR.

AHMEDABAD: Soon, there will come a time in Ahmedabad when the police will describe their crime-solving efficiency as the number of incidents per 100 cameras. This is no figment of imagination because the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda) has inserted a clause in the new development plan for the city making CCTV cameras compulsory for certain upcoming buildings. Auda officials say that commercial buildings, hospitals, and hotels will now be taken under the ambit of the new CCTV rule.

The clause goes a step farther as one Auda official explained, "Building use permission will only be granted to those commercial buildings that have CCTV cameras installed." There are some extra security features for hotels and hospitals also. "Places of public assembly like parks and gardens and even city squares will have CCTV cameras too," the official said.

Section 25.4 in the development plan, which deals with public safety, says: "Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Network shall be installed in public areas of assembly, buildings, and other places of entertainment as per protocols laid down by the appropriate authority." The clause is explained in subsequent paragraphs. Under sections dealing with hotels and hospitals, the rule reads, "For public safety, in consultation with a security expert, CCTV cameras, night-vision devices, motion sensors, control room, refuge areas, escape routes and other security provisions shall be included in building planning and design and be installed on completion."

However, officials did not wish to comment on the problems of privacy that such a provision may cause. "Why do we forget the Indian Mujahideen-orchestrated serial bomb blasts of 2008, repeated incidents of chain snatchings, sex rackets in hotels, hit-and-run cases, occasional bank robberies, vehicle thefts and even daylight murders?" the Auda official said. "Most of such cases are yet to be solved for want of evidence. If the main streets, where commercial buildings are located, have security cameras, many of these incidents can be captured and the footage will become important evidence."

Once CCTV cameras are installed, the local police may demand the storage of footage for six months or a period specified by local security agencies. "How prepared are Amdavadis to be noticed by peering electronic eyes is yet to be seen," adds the Auda official.