Bengaluru: In the state, many land accounts are still registered under the names of deceased individuals. To address this issue, the government is initiating a campaign to register land in the names of heirs through the “Pauti Khate” initiative. Although a similar campaign was conducted previously, it did not achieve the desired level of implementation. Hence, a special campaign has been launched to deliver Pauti Khate records directly to the doorsteps of households, facilitating the process of transferring land records from deceased individuals to their rightful heirs.

Pauti Khate refers to the process of transferring land records of properties registered in the name of a deceased person to the names of their heirs or family members. The campaign aims to make Pauti Khate accessible to eligible heirs through home visits. The Revenue Department has confirmed that obtaining land inheritance records will be streamlined, as accurate information about deceased individuals is available with the government.

The campaign has already commenced, focusing first on districts with lower workloads for officials, with plans to extend the initiative to other districts subsequently. Currently, the names of deceased individuals still appear in land records, causing issues for their heirs. To mitigate these problems, the government has devised a plan for the efficient transfer of land ownership to heirs.

A separate software has been developed for the Pauti Khate initiative. Village accountants will visit households to gather accurate information about heirs, using genealogical trees as a reference. The registration process involves obtaining OTPs through Aadhaar verification. If there are multiple heirs, their names will be recorded sequentially, and OTPs will be used to facilitate the process.

Even in cases of disputes over inherited property, registration can proceed. If records of the deceased owner are unavailable, alternative measures such as local inquiries will be conducted to create necessary documentation. If heirs do not agree to the Pauti Khate, they have the option to take the matter to court.

Participating in the Pauti Khate initiative will save individuals from having to make repeated visits to local offices and will significantly save farmers’ time.

The campaign aims to curb corruption that may occur during the property registration process, helping heirs to obtain Pauti Khate without hassle.

Application Form-1 for Pauti/Inheritance accounts is available at all revenue offices across the state. Attempts have been made to electronically validate the ownership of 4.11 crore land parcels through Aadhaar, with connections established for 3.5 crore landowners.

About 2.2 crore land parcels have been electronically validated, and 51.13 lakh landowners are reported to be deceased. Investigations revealed approximately 70 lakh land parcels being used for non-agricultural purposes, with around 60 lakh farmers still needing to be contacted. The state has found that 75% of farmers are small or marginal, with over 30% of land holdings registered in women’s names.

“The resolution of disputes in courts, along with corrections related to misregistered properties through Form 3-9, should be addressed at the level of sub-divisional officers. Officials are urged to keep in mind the challenges faced by the public and their responsibilities, and to conduct all operations in a campaign mode, with special emphasis on the Pauti Khate initiative,” stated Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.