Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, May 8: The property card scheme was introduced for the first time in coastal Karnataka, in Mangaluru. The property card was introduced as a measure to do away with the hassle of putting together various papers from different offices. However, because of lack of interest on the part of the government and confusion in its implementation, the scheme is encountering problems one after the other.

The government, which had stipulated that property cards were compulsory for property registrations, has postponed the decision until further orders. The government has not yet taken a clear stand whether the card will be made compulsory or it would be dropped. This uncertain stand has put the people in a fix.

In the meanwhile, the process of issuance of property cards has been continued, but because of lack of infrastructure, problems are encountered. Because of lack of interest shown by the government and absence of vigil about the working of the scheme, the entire system of property cards has been haphazard. Thirty sectors spread over 36 villages fall under the ambit of the property card scheme.

About 30 surveyors are required for measuring and scrutiny, but currently only ten surveyors are available. About 40 computers are needed but the number of computers here stands at 20. The public information counter which was here in the past has been closed down. The people find it hard to get information about the card.

As the office does not have a telephone line, people are compelled to contact employees over their personal mobile phones for information. The storage work of documents collected from the people is also not maintained systematically. They are dumped in the store room. Searching for the documents is a huge task, and server problems delays property cad preparation work. It is said that because of the menace of middlemen, those who want to get cards done directly are facing problems.

As the government has postponed the scheme, the property card applications have trickled down to ten per day now. In the past, 250 property cards were issued per day but it has come down to 25 now. Out of two lac properties in the city, 67,000 draft property cards have been prepared and 50,000 have been completed.

Niranjan, deputy director of the land survey department says that surveyors have been deputed to different programmes of the government and their absence is felt. He said that 50 percent of the draft cards have been already prepared and steps are being made to speed up the process and to distribute the cards in a systematic manner.