I am here to take you through a guided tour of the MAZE: how corruption is plotted and executed in India and to provide answers to your questions on how to avoid, resist, reduce and eliminate this evil. With 26 years of experience in the Indian Government, as a former high ranking civil servant, I bring you the view from within the "system".
Please do not listen to anyone and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, at
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
Once you have successfully completed your transaction without paying a bribe, please report your experience under the section 'I didn't pay a bribe', so that it can be an inspiration to others not to pay bribes.
Thank you for your frank comments. First of all, let me clarify that we do not use our website to make money. We do not run advertisements. We do not get anything from Google. The cost of running the website is entirely borne by our Mother NGO, Janaagraha, which works for improving the quality of infrastructure, services and citizenship.
Yes, I do agree that many citizens collude to evade stamp duty, In fact, we have constantly advised citizens to pay the entire sale amount in white and avoid any temptation to evade duty. However, collusion takes many forms, In many cases, because citizens are so ill informed, they are misguided by middlemen, including lawyers and builders agents. It is not as if all lawyers are in the wrong, but somehow, the good ones do not want to take upon themselves to launch a crusade against the corrupt amongst them. This tragedy, that honest people often shield their corrupt colleagues, is a sad fact of life.
I am all for payment of taxes without evasion. Yes, if we do not pay our taxes, then we have no right to seek good governance from our government.
I totally agree with you; a scourge bigger than corruption is the glaring inequality between the rich and the poor in our country. It poses a greater danger to all of us, as equal a threat as corruption.
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charterand carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter! They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order.
One practical minded individual has sent us some very interesting rules to avoid being asked for a bribe and one of the things he says is as follows:
(1) Do your homework before you approach a government office for anything. For example, go to the website of the department concerned, spend a little time understanding the rules and regulations. If the department has FAQs, please read them thoroughly. If the department has a citizens charter under which they commit to complete a particular job within a specific time, then carry this with you.
(2) If somebody tries to approach you to pay a bribe, please take the following approach:
(a) Do not be submissive. Look confident. Look him in the eye. Ask him for his name, call him by his name. Do not call him –‘sir’. Be polite but do not show unnecessary respect. Be firm and confident.
(b)Tell him clearly what you want and that you are applying in the prescribed format. Also tell him that you suspect that things will move only if you pay a bribe. Tell him very clearly, that you will not pay a bribe.
(c) If he asks you for money, then loudly, so that others also hear what you are saying, say that you will give him a bribe only if he gives you a receipt. Or make it very clear that you will not pay him one paisa.
(3) Try to tackle the government officers as a group, never alone. People in corrupt offices get a little worried when you go as a group.
(4) Be patient, when faced with delaying tactics. When an official is consistently unavailable in office, leave a letter that says (for example) that we came to visit the official at the time and date specified but that he was not available. Please also say that his assistant told us to come again on another date (to be specified). Such letters will make the official feel that he must take special care of your work – that we are people he must not trifle with. In case there are people who are obviously jumping the queue, make a big fuss about it. Say that you are going to complain to higher officials.
(5) Do not submit any applications or papers, without obtaining a written acknowledgment that such papers have been submitted.
(6) Do not accept any oral instructions from any government official.If any government official speaks of a procedure, that you do not know of or is not in the rule book, then ask him to show the government rule under which he is dealing with any application that you make. If he does not do so, you must (a) write a letter saying that they demanded these papers and seek to know the written instructions under which these are mandatory. (b) If there is no response, file RTI applications to find our whether such a written instruction exists. (c) Use RTI Act to find out whether such papers have been demanded from otherapplicants.in this regard.
A hint here: It we are asked to bring some additional papers, and then an official offers to do the work without these additional papers for a bribe, then it is conclusive proof that such papers are unnecessary in the first place.
(7) Talk about going to senior officials of the department, as also the Lokayukta too, with a complaint, in case your work is not done. Please mention the names of higher officials. Most people who engage in petty corruption are also cowards! They will immediately do the work.
(8) Also be ready to send complaints to the public grievance cell (also available for many departments on their websites) with all details. Do this on a weekly basis, till people do your work.
(9) Carry recording instruments; even a mobile will do. Every conversation will be recorded and then documented, including time and day. (This might be considered a little tedious – but this is very useful, because we all tend to forget very quickly, what was said).
The purpose of the above steps is two fold
(a) These improve our confidence, knowledge and negotiating ability
(b) it disrupts the normal behaviour pattern to which corrupt people are used. They expect you to be unsure and confused when you visit an office. By going there confidently, in a group and speaking bluntly as one, we are disrupting their pattern and making the conversation run according to our pattern. We control the conversation! Once you do all this, most officials back off and immediately do your work. They are always afraid of knowledgeable people.
(10) You can also have some fun by trying some Gandhigiri. It has been known to work. Please read the posting - why corruption exists, some observations- which speaks of how an individual successfully resisted payment of a bribe for registering a property in Bangalore. Basically, he was repeatedly asked to wait. When finally he was asked for a five thousand rupees in a somewhat menacing voice, our friend who has posted the story told him that he would insist on paying ten thousand rupees into the Kargil fund - five thousand from the official and five thousand as a contribution from our friend who has made the post. The officer demanding the bribe felt ashamed and said he did not want the money but it was his boss who insisted on it. Our poster then assured him that he would be very happy to give another five thousand from his boss to the Kargil fund. The next morning, the ashamed officers handed over the initial document accepting the submission. You can see the entire story on this website under the heading - I didnt pay a bribe.
This process seems tedious and time-consuming, but it will eventually yield results. Hope you take into consideration this advice and get your work done without having to pay a bribe.
Yes, this certainly looks like a bribe! There is no necessity for you to pay this. In the meantime, please question the builder, why is he behaving like an agent for the corrupt officials of the BBMP? That is not his job! Please see the note below to understand what a B Khata is.
A Khatha is an entry of the property owners details in the records of the Corporation/Municipality or the Gram Panchayat. The Khatha register is an important document that contains brief details of the property, the estimated property tax and other cesses payable on the property and the property tax and cesses collected every year. It is therefore an account of a person who has property in the city or Panchayat, as also an account of assessment of property owners within the Corporation’s jurisdiction.
On 16-1- 2007, the State Government constituted the BBMP by merging seven CMCs, 1 TMC and some Gram Panchayats, including Bellandur, with the erstwhile BMP. At the time of merger, the BMP was collecting property tax on the basis of Annual Rental Value under the optional Self Assessment System, whereas the CMCs, TMC were collecting tax under the capital value system under the provisions of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964 and the villages were collecting tax under the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993. Following the merger, it was felt necessary to bring in a uniform property tax policy in the entire BBMP area. Therefore, the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 was amended on 5th March 2009, by inserting a new section 108A, to provide for collection of property tax on the basis of unit area value. This new section 108A gives the detailed process for the assessment of property tax for such properties.
In principle, as soon as these surrounding areas became part of the BBMP, it should have become the responsibility of the BBMP to take over the property list of Bellandur and integrate it with its own property list. However, this did not happen. Part of the reason was inefficiency, but another reason was quite genuine.
What was the BBMPs genuine problem? To obtain a Khatha for a new building, it must in the first place be a building that has all the legal sanctions. However, many Apartment complex built in the Panchayats surrounding Bangalore were found to have violated several laws. For instance, they constructed on agricultural land that was not converted, or were built in violation of building bylaws, or no occupancy or completion certificates had been issued.
Most buyers of flats dont check these details when they buy the flat. You must check these details. Normally, your sale deed should contain information regarding the mutation of the land, its original owners, order reference regarding the conversion for non-agriculture purposes, etc and also the details of the plan sanction and the occupancy certificate. The builder must also give copies of all these documents to each of the owners who have purchased the apartment. But many sale deeds, especially in the case of apartment complexes, do not contain these land information.
Now in the normal course, if a building has flouted the building norms, they will not get the occupancy certificate. In the absence of the occupancy certificate the Tax Department in BBMP will not issue the Khatha certificate.
But then, who is the loser when you do not have a Khatha? Whilst the Khatha is an important document for you, it is actually more important for the BBMP, because it is the property list on the basis of which tax can be collected by the BBMP. If a Khatha is not given by the BBMP, they lose much more than you do. They cannot collect property tax from you!
So the BBMP did a very smart thing – to not give you a regular Khatha, but at the same time, collect tax from you. How did they do that? They amendedsub section 3 of Section 108A, to allow them to levy and collect the property tax even from a building constructed in violation of the provisions of the building byelaws or in an unauthorized layout or in a revenue land or from a building occupied without issuance of occupancy or completion certificate. The property tax collected from such building is to be maintained in a separate register. This is the B register, and the Khatha issued under this register is the B Khatha. The B Khatha certificate has all the essence of a regular Khatha but it will be made regular once the building has been regularized by the authorities.
So in this confusion, there are several points that you must remember, as follows:
(a) Even if you may have a sale deed registered with the sub-registrar, it still does not entitle you to get a Khatha Certificate.
(b) You need to have a possession certificate, encumbrance certificate, occupancy certificate, copies of previous tax paid for the land/building and then if you apply for a Khatha, you will get it.
(c) But then if the property has not been issued with occupancy certificate by the BBMP, then the following papers should be given along with the Khatha application.
(i) Title documents, flow chart of the title [ The developer has to give these details. Normally it should form part of the sale deed itself.]
(ii) Copies of previous tax paid receipts,
(iii) Proof of improvement charges paid (If the land has been converted by the planning authority, then improvement charges has to be paid to the BBMP)
(iv) Khatha extract issued by the erstwhile Panchayat ( The developer has to give this copy.)
(v) A Sketch showing the location and measurements of the property ( the builder has to give a certified measurement)
Then also you will be given a Khatha.
However, on the other hand, if the above documents have not been filed, then don’t worry, you are still entitled to get the B Khatha.
Incidentally, the details of the documents required are posted on the BBMP website www.bbmp.gov.in under "Khatha service"
In this confusion, beware of the unholy nexus between the Builder and the BBMP staff. They might approach you with the promise of getting a Khatha, no questions asked, if you pay a bribe! This is very dangerous, because even after you pay a bribe, if the Builder does not have the full documents, you might still get only a B Khatha, which is what you are entitled in the first place!
So, I would advise that you do the following things:
(a) First, I think you need to convince your Management Committee. Please print out this reply, as also the FAQs and give it to them. I would also advise that you give copies to all your flat owners, to muster support.
(b) Question your builder, or his agent or middleman, very closely. Ask him what kind of Khatha he will get you. An A Khatha, or a B Khatha? If he promises you an A Khatha, ask him to show you the occupancy certificate. If he does not have an occupancy certificate and he promises you an A Khatha, then he is lying to you. He cannot get you an A Khatha. If he has an occupancy certificate, then he must give you a copy.
(c)File an RTI with the BBMP, seeking to know the specific reason why the Khatha has not been issued in respect of the specific applications, (name them clearly so that the BBMP cannot dodge you) that you have filed?
The truth is that under the law, it is the BBMPs responsibility to give you the Khatha and we must hold them accountable, if they do not do so. Your builder also has a responsibility to be open and clear in his dealings with you. You must force the builder to give you the necessary documents as there are his primary obligations for selling the property.
To sum up, I would suggest that after you have gone through this response, please check if you have the necessary documents to obtain for either regular Khatha or a B Khatha as the case maybe. Once I have your response on the documents you have gathered, I can advise you further. But in the meantime please do not pay a bribe. It is a matter of your right to get a Khatha. If you have been fooled by your builder and your building does not have the legal status as promised by him, you are still entitled to get a B Khatha, which would suffice for the moment, till the Government announces a scheme for regularization of the unauthorized building.
Please do not listen to anyone and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, of the government of Punjab. There. you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
Once you have successfully completed your transaction without paying a bribe, please report your experience under the section 'I didn't pay a bribe', so that it can be an inspiration to others not to pay bribes.
Please do not listen to anyone and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, at
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
Once you have successfully completed your transaction without paying a bribe, please report your experience under the section 'I didn't pay a bribe', so that it can be an inspiration to others not to pay bribes.
Please go to ipaidabribe.com, Please download the Janamahithi report on Registration and there, you will find that we have given all the details of the documents required for registering a property.
Yes, we will add these cities to the drop down menu.
Regarding the ways in which corruption can be brought down through systemic reforms, The new laws that are on the anvil, aim to bring about time limits for the provision of government services. In the absence of such adherence to time limits, the new laws prescribe punishments for officials. let us hope that such measures will also reduce the incidence of corruption dramatically.
As regards whether Indians behave like slaves, it is up to us not to behave like slaves. As long as we continue to behave in that fashion, even if we have a Lokpal Act, we will not see much difference in corruption at the local level.
Please do not listen to anyone, including your lawyer and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, at
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
Once you have successfully completed your transaction without paying a bribe, please report your experience under the section 'I didn't pay a bribe', so that it can be an inspiration to others not to pay bribes.
Please do not listen to anyone and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, at
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
Once you have successfully completed your transaction without paying a bribe, please report your experience under the section 'I didn't pay a bribe', so that it can be an inspiration to others not to pay bribes.
Please do not listen to anyone and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, at
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
Once you have successfully completed your transaction without paying a bribe, please report your experience under the section 'I didn't pay a bribe', so that it can be an inspiration to others not to pay bribes.
Thank you for your interest and resolve in fighting corruption alongside us! You can contact the HR department of Janaagraha and speak to Sapna, our HR head. There are a large number of volunteer opportunities in ipaidabribe.com and we would like to have you assisting us.
Please do not listen to anyone and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, at
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
Once you have successfully completed your transaction without paying a bribe, please report your experience under the section 'I didn't pay a bribe', so that it can be an inspiration to others not to pay bribes.
Please do not listen to anyone and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, at
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
Once you have successfully completed your transaction without paying a bribe, please report your experience under the section 'I didn't pay a bribe', so that it can be an inspiration to others not to pay bribes.
Yes, the website of the Department of Stamps and Registration does mention that you will get your property registered in 2 hours 20 mins. Unfortunately they do not adhere to this. I request you to do the following:
Please go to the registration department’s website, at http://www.karigr.org/citizen/default.htm Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Under the citizens charter, the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction in 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charterand carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter! They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order.
In case you are faced with demands for bribes, please follow these suggestions:
(1) Do your homework before you approach a government office for anything. For example, go to the website of the department concerned, spend a little time understanding the rules and regulations. If the department has FAQs, please read them thoroughly. If the department has a citizens charter under which they commit to complete a particular job within a specific time, then carry this with you.
(2) Do not set out to do something illegal. For instance, if you are buying a property, or a flat, it is better to buy it with money paid by cheque.
(3) Do not go to middlemen. In almost every transaction, there are middlemen who operate, such as builder’s agents, touts in the sub-registrar’s office. Avoid them.
(4) If somebody tries to approach you to pay a bribe, please take the following approach:
(a) Do not be submissive. Look confident. Look him in the eye. Ask him for his name, call him by his name. Do not call him –‘sir’. Be polite but do not show unnecessary respect. Be firm and confident.
(b) Tell him clearly what you want and that you are applying in the prescribed format. Also tell him that you suspect that things will move only if you pay a bribe. Tell him very clearly, that you will not pay a bribe.
c) If he asks you for money, then loudly, so that others also hear what you are saying, say that you will give him a bribe only if he gives you a receipt. Or make it very clear that you will not pay him one paisa.
(5) Try to tackle the government officers as a group, never alone. People in corrupt offices get a little worried when you go as a group.
(6) Be patient, when faced with delaying tactics. When an official is consistently unavailable in office, leave a letter that says (for example) that we came to visit the official at the time and date specified but that he was not available. Please also say that his assistant told us to come again on another date (to be specified). Such letters will make the official feel that he must take special care of your work – that we are people he must not trifle with. In case there are people who are obviously jumping the queue, make a big fuss about it. Say that you are going to complain to higher officials.
(7) Do not submit any applications or papers, without obtaining a written acknowledgment that such papers have been submitted.
(8) Do not accept any oral instructions from any government official.If any government official speaks of a procedure, that you do not know of or is not in the rule book, then ask him to show the government rule under which he is dealing with any application that you make. If he does not do so, you must (a) write a letter saying that they demanded these papers and seek to know the written instructions under which these are mandatory. (b) If there is no response, file RTI applications to find our whether such a written instruction exists. (c) Use RTI Act to find out whether such papers have been demanded from other applicants.in this regard.
A hint here: It we are asked to bring some additional papers, and then an official offers to do the work without these additional papers for a bribe, then it is conclusive proof that such papers are unnecessary in the first place.
(8) Talk about going to senior officials of the department, as also the Lokayukta too, with a complaint, in case your work is not done. Please mention the names of higher officials. Most people who engage in petty corruption are also cowards! They will immediately do the work.
(9) Also be ready to send complaints to the public grievance cell (also available for many departments on their websites) with all details. Do this on a weekly basis, till people do your work.
(10) Carry recording instruments; even a mobile will do. Every conversation will be recorded and then documented, including time and day. (This might be considered a little tedious – but this is very useful, because we all tend to forget very quickly, what was said).
The purpose of the above steps is two fold
(a) These improve our confidence, knowledge and negotiating ability
(b) it disrupts the normal behaviour pattern to which corrupt people are used. They expect you to be unsure and confused when you visit an office. By going there confidently, in a group and speaking bluntly as one, we are disrupting their pattern and making the conversation run according to our pattern. We control the conversation! Once you do all this, most officials back off and immediately do your work. They are always afraid of knowledgeable people.
(11) You can also have some fun by trying some Gandhigiri. It has been known to work.
Please do not listen to anyone and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, at
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
It all depends upon you. If you take some simple precautions and are willing to be patient, you need not pay a bribe to anyone to obtain something that is your right.
Here are some simple tips how to avoid a bribe taking situation.
(1)Do your homework before you approach a government office for anything. For example, go to the website of the department concerned, spend a little time understanding the rules and regulations. If the department has FAQs, please read them thoroughly. If the department has a citizens charter under which they commit to complete a particular job within a specific time, then carry this with you.
(2)Do not set out to do something illegal. For instance, if you are buying a property, or a flat, it is better to buy it with money paid by cheque. Again, when you venture out in your vehicle, carry all the papers with you.
(3)Do not go to middlemen. In almost every transaction, there are middlemen who operate, such as builder’s agents, touts in the RTOs office and the sub-registrar’s office. Avoid them.
(4) If somebody tries to approach you to pay a bribe, please take the following approach:
(a) Do not be submissive. Look confident. Look him in the eye. Ask him for his name, call him by his name. Do not call him –‘sir’. Be polite but do not show unnecessary respect. Be firm and confident.
(b) Tell him clearly what you want and that you are applying in the prescribed format. Also tell him that you suspect that things will move only if you pay a bribe. Tell him very clearly, that you will not pay a bribe.
c) If he asks you for money, then loudly, so that others also hear what you are saying, say that you will give him a bribe only if he gives you a receipt. Or make it very clear that you will not pay him one paisa.
(5) Try to tackle the government officers as a group, never alone. People in corrupt offices get a little worried when you go as a group.
(6) Be patient, when faced with delaying tactics. When an official is consistently unavailable in office, leave a letter that says (for example) that we came to visit the official at the time and date specified but that he was not available. Please also say that his assistant told us to come again on another date (to be specified). Such letters will make the official feel that he must take special care of your work – that we are people he must not trifle with.
(7) Do not submit any applications or papers, without obtaining a written acknowledgment that such papers have been submitted.
(8) Do not accept any oral instructions from any government official. If any government official speaks of a procedure, that you do not know of or is not in the rule book, then ask him to show the government rule under which he is dealing with any application that you make. If he does not do so, you must (a) write a letter saying that they demanded these papers and seek to know the written instructions under which these are mandatory. (b) If there is no response, file RTI applications to find our whether such a written instruction exists. (c) Use RTI Act to find out whether such papers have been demanded from other applicants.in this regard.
A hint here: It we are asked to bring some additional papers, and then an official offers to do the work without these additional papers for a bribe, then it is conclusive proof that such papers are unnecessary in the first place.
(9) Talk about going to senior officials of the department, as also the Lokayukta too, with a complaint, in case your work is not done. Please mention the names of higher officials. Most people who engage in petty corruption are also cowards! They will immediately do the work.
(10) Also be ready to send complaints to the public grievance cell (also available for many departments on their websites) with all details. Do this on a weekly basis, till people do your work.
(11) Carry recording instruments; even a mobile will do. Every conversation will be recorded and then documented, including time and day. (This might be considered a little tedious – but this is very useful, because we all tend to forget very quickly, what was said).
The purpose of the above steps is two fold
(a) These improve our confidence, knowledge and negotiating ability
(b) It disrupts the normal behaviour pattern to which corrupt people are used. They expect you to be unsure and confused when you visit an office. By going there confidently, in a group and speaking bluntly as one, we are disrupting their pattern and making the conversation run according to our pattern. We control the conversation! Once you do all this, most officials back off and immediately do your work. They are always afraid of knowledgeable people.
(12) You can also have some fun by trying some Gandhigiri. It has been known to work. For instance, you could pay officials concerned in zero rupee notes, which can be downloaded from the web!
Based upon more than 1500 ‘I didn’t pay a bribe’ experiences of citizens reported on the site, we have prepared the ten commandments of avoiding corruption, which is a powerful and effective citizens advisory.
Please do not listen to anyone and pay a bribe for registration. If you want to buy a property and register its sale and if you want to pay the entire amount through cheque, then the entire transaction is above board. In such cases, nobody can stop you and It is your right to have the sale deed registered! And do you know who will lose if you do not register it? The government, because they collect stamp duty on the transaction.
In the past, there was a lot of scope for corruption. This was because the buyer would pay some part of the sale amount in unaccounted money. The registration office would know about it. So they threatened the buyer with the threat that they would launch an investigation into undervaluation! In such circumstances, the registration office and the buyer colluded to declare a low value and the buyer parted with a bribe, to pay the registration office authorities to look the other way. Who was the loser? The government, which was not getting the full stamp duty that ought to have been paid!
To curb this, the government came out with fixed area wise guidance values. Regardless of the value on your sale deed, you had to pay the stamp duty as per the guidance value, (or the sale deed value, whichever is higher). This has changed the situation completely. The registrar’s office has no discretion now. They must register your deed. Then tell me, my friend, why should you pay a bribe?
What can the registration office do if you do not pay a bribe? They can make you wait, thats all! And even there they cannot do much.
Please immediately do the following things.
Please go to the registration departments website, at
Here you can download the citizens charter of the registration department. Do you in know in how much time the sub registrar has committed to complete your transaction? 2 hours 20 minutes! 20 minutes to verify the market value of property, 1 hour for Preliminary scrutiny of documents, enclosures and issue of Form No.1A. and one hour for admission of documents, recording signatures etc. Please print out the citizens charter and carry it with you. Let us see how many officials will disregard their own departments citizens charter!
At the end of the day, the registrars office is bluffing you. They have no discretion to refuse to undertake a registration, if your papers are in order. According to their own citizens charter, they have committed to finish your transaction within a short time. If they demand a bribe from you, it is because they believe they can fool you, for some more time at least. If you stay firm and insist upon getting the registration done, then the registration department cannot refuse to register the transaction.
On ipaidabribe.com, we analysed the registration department bribe experiences of more than 500 citizens and found that in many cases, the prompting to pay a bribe comes from the builder, the lawyers of the builder, chartered accountants and even relatives and friends. You can read the downloadable Janamahithi report that is on the site.
Everybody wants to avoid 'trouble' and that is the problem. In fighting corruption, the biggest enemy is within us. Please take courage. Today the climate is very very anti corruption, because of the public agitations that have erupted all over the country. The registration staff should also be aware of this. Please raise your voice. Even wear an anti corruption badge when you go to the registration office. That will put some fear in the staff and make them think twice before demanding a bribe.
A Khatha is an entry of the property owners details in the records of the Corporation/Municipality or the Gram Panchayat. The Khatha register is an important document that contains brief details of the property, the estimated property tax and other cesses payable on the property and the property tax and cesses collected every year. It is therefore an account of a person who has property in the city or Panchayat, as also an account of assessment of property owners within the Corporation’s jurisdiction.
On 16-1- 2007, the State Government constituted the BBMP by merging seven CMCs, 1 TMC and some Gram Panchayats, with the erstwhile BMP. At the time of merger, the BMP was collecting property tax on the basis of Annual Rental Value under the optional Self Assessment System, whereas the CMCs, TMC were collecting tax under the capital value system under the provisions of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964 and the villages were collecting tax under the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993. Following the merger, it was felt necessary to bring in a uniform property tax policy in the entire BBMP area. Therefore, the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 was amended on 5th March 2009, by inserting a new section 108A, to provide for collection of property tax on the basis of unit area value. This new section 108A gives the detailed process for the assessment of property tax for such properties.
In principle, as soon as such areas became part of the BBMP, it should have become the responsibility of the BBMP to take over the property lists and integrate it with its own property list. However, this did not happen. Part of the reason was inefficiency, but another reason was quite genuine.
But then, who is the loser when you do not have a Khatha? Whilst the Khatha is an important document for you, it is actually more important for the BBMP, because it is the property list on the basis of which tax can be collected by the BBMP. If a Khatha is not given by the BBMP, they lose much more than you do. They cannot collect property tax from you!
The government has amended sub section 3 of Section 108A, to allow them to levy and collect the property tax even from a building constructed in violation of the provisions of the building byelaws or in an unauthorized layout or in a revenue land or from a building occupied without issuance of occupancy or completion certificate. The property tax collected from such building is to be maintained in a separate register. This is the B register, and the Khatha issued under this register is the B Khatha. The B Khatha certificate has all the essence of a regular Khatha but it will be made regular once the building has been regularized by the authorities.
Typically, the property that you want to buy has been issued a B Khata because it might not have been converted from agricultural to non agricultural use. If you want to buy it, it is at your own risk. The Government has been contemplating the regularisation of all such irregular properties. However, this has been pending for a long time and nobody knows what the contours of the final solution, named 'Akrama-Sakrama' will be. I would suggest you to take a look at other properties also. If not and you still want to buy this property, please go ahead, but be aware that regularisation might finally depend upon what the government decides.
If the builder has given you a n occupancy certificate, then there is no need for you to obtain a B Khata. In many cases, the builder also colludes with the BBMP staff to force you to pay a bribe. Even if you want to obtain a B Khata, there is no need to pay a bribe.
I suggest that you send a complaint to the BBMP Authorities, with details of your property tax paid receipt as well as the copy of the return for the same.
Also file an RTI application seeking to obtain an extract of the Khata register in which your Khata details are filled. In the RTI application, please seek the specific reason why the Khatha has not been issued in respect of your applications, (give precise details so that the BBMP cannot dodge you). If the BBMP authorities concerned do not provide further details, then please escalate the complaint to the Lokayukta.
Incidentally, the details of the documents required are posted on the BBMP website www.bbmp.gov.in under "Khatha service"
If the BBMP staff is approach you with the promise of getting a Khatha, no questions asked, if you pay a bribe, then obviously, it is perfectly legal for them to give you the Khata straightaway, without taking a bribe. You are entitled to get a Khata in any case, straightaway.
The truth is that under the law, it is the BBMPs responsibility to give you the Khatha and we must hold them accountable, if they do not do so, or if they have lost the earlier Khata details.
To sum up, I would suggest that after you have gone through my mail please check if you have the necessary documents to obtain for either regular Khatha or a B Khatha as the case maybe. Once I have your response on the documents you have gathered, I can advise you further. But in the meantime please do not pay a bribe. It is a matter of your right to get a Khatha.
