Buying property may get easier, govt to amend law

Under the amendments proposed by the rural development ministry and due to be taken up by the cabinet soon, all records of future property transactions will be digitised and made easily available for any potential buyer to access. Saubhadra Chatterji reports.

A big chunk of the stress associated with buying a piece of property could be eliminated if a government proposal to amend the registration act goes through.

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Under the amendments proposed by the rural development ministry and due to be taken up by the cabinet soon, all records of future property transactions will be digitised and made easily available for any potential buyer to access.

This means that ownership would be clearly established, as also prices at which the property changed hands, making it easier to value in years to come. The changes, which could be the most significant in the 105-year history of the Act, will benefit buyers in both rural and urban areas.

"The proposed amendments have been cleared by law minister Kapil Sibal. Now, we will seek cabinet clearance," rural development minister Jairam Ramesh told HT.

He said the new set of amendments, if passed, will ensure the process of registration becomes more transparent and the information available to the public is more detailed and accurate.

Currently, land records and related information are haphazardly managed and difficult to get, often resulting in buyers ending up with a property that’s already been sold to someone else.

This problem was widespread enough to inspire the 2006 Bollywood hit Khosla Ka Ghosla, in which a middle-class retired man faces major hassles in claiming possession of a piece of land he has bought because of a lack of clarity about its actual ownership.

The amendments have been proposed as a supplementary measure to the land acquisition bill. Though the bill is expected to have more of an impact on rural areas, the supplementary measure will benefit potential buyers in cities and towns as well.