Property record project soon in Bangalore

The State Cabinet on Monday gave its nod to usher in the land titling system in Bangalore by approving implementation of the proposed Urban Property Owner Record (UPOR) project. Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Law Minister Suresh Kumar said, to begin with, the project will be implemented in 50 wards of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike covering about four lakh properties. Under the UPOR, also called City Survey, land titles or property cards will be given to the owners of properties after conducting a survey. The Department of Survey Settlement and Land Records will implement the project in a phased manner under public private partnership. The origin and history of all the properties, both public and private, will be traced with the help of village maps. The project will not only provide clear titles to property owners, but help trace encroachments, especially of the government lands. There are 16 lakh housing properties in Bangalore and with the project in place, this number is expected to go up to about 20 lakh with the inclusion of properties that had been left out of assessment, Kumar said. Currently, there is no title system for properties in the State. The Department is already implementing the project in five cities of Mysore, Shimoga, Bellary, Belgaum and Mangalore. The UPOR has been formulated on the Scotland model. Official sources said the Request for Proposal (RFP) will soon be invited from private players, whose main task will be to help the Department survey properties. The government is planning to offer about Rs 118 per property to the private partner. The first phase of the project is likely to be completed in about a year's time, sources said. User fee The Department, sources said, will charge a user fee – ranging between Rs 300 and Rs 600 per property depending on the dimension and type of properties - for issuing the title or the property card. The Cabinet also decided to invite Expression of Interest (EoI) for developing a film city cum theme park on 302 acres at Hesaraghatta with private participation. The project has been on the cards since 1970 but had not taken of due to one or the other reason. Suresh Kumar said thrust had been given on the project in view of the second edition of the Global Investors Meet scheduled for the next month. The proposed venture on government land at Hesaragatta would also include a golf resort, Kumar said. The Cabinet gave its approval for setting up a Centre for Innovations and Good Governance in Bangalore, an initiative of the Central government. The Cabinet decided to release Rs 1.63 crore for the proposed Centre which would work in the area of administrative reforms, best practices in various government departments and policy and training issues, among others. The Cabinet also decided to change the title of the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act, 2011 as Sakaala Services Act, 2011. source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/247774/property-record-project-soon-bangalore.html