I Paid A Bribe | Hi Raghu, I\'ve decided to buy a property in Anekal Taluk (30 X 40) plot.We were to go for registration on 9/9/2010.During that time of registration the SRO

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Hi Raghu, I\'ve decided to buy a property in Anekal Taluk (30 X 40) plot.We were to go for registration on 9/9/2010.During that time of registration the SRO - said that we\'re missing a document (9

Reported on September 14, 2010 from Bangalore , Karnataka ι Report #34032

We have had to do a lot of research to give you a useful clarification. This involved speaking to a former IAS officer, another experienced retired official and some local enquiries made by an enthusiastic volunteer from Janaagraha.

 

Form no 1 and 12 are Forms prescribed under the Karnataka Zilla Parishads and Mandal Panchayats Act 1983, designed for collection of property tax by the local rural local governments (which were named Mandal Panchayats under that act and are now known as Gram Panchayats). However, this act is no longer on the Statute book; it has been replaced by the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act 1993. Under the latter act, new forms have been introduced for this purpose; they are Forms 9 and 11.

 

Now you will ask me why, if a new act has been enacted, are the old forms 1 and 12 still floating around. To understand why, one needs to step back and look at some other laws, which have a bearing on the conversion of land for the purpose of forming house sites in rural areas. Under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, land has to be converted from agricultural to non-agricultural use, before sites can be formed. This is a cumbersome and corruption prone procedure, apart from the fact that there is a heavy conversion fee to be paid. In order to avoid this procedure, developers of plots in rural areas began to forge Forms no 1 and 12 (often in connivance with Panchayat functionaries), to create records as if these lands had been Panchayat sites since a long time. Using these forged Forms 1 and 12, they began to form layouts in agricultural lands around Bangalore and getting them registered without conversion. Such sites are what are popularly known as Revenue sites.

 

Anyway, we all know that with everybody’s connivance, builders, customers and officials, the majority of sites transacted around Bangalore in the past 25 years are revenue sites, registered and changing hands on the basis of such bogus Forms 1 and 12! 
 

So what did the government do next? It enacted a new provision in the Registration Act (Section 22A) prohibiting registration of Revenue sites, as being against public policy. However, this did not stem the flow of registration, because people continued to produce forged Forms 1 and 12, and registration continued to go on, on the payment of hefty bribes.

 

In order to curb this problem, another step was taken by the Bangalore (Urban) district Deputy Commissioner, two months back. He issued a circular, stating that properties which fall under any Gram  Panchayat limits, (which were earlier required to submit only Forms 1 and  12 at the time of registration) should now produce Forms 9  and 11, (issued under the 1993 Panchayat Raj Act, by the Gram Panchayat). By way of double caution, he has also prescribed that these Forms 9 and 11 should be  counter signed by the Taluk Panchayat Executive Officer as a further check.

 

These additional measures have been taken to pre-empt the  formation of unauthorized layouts. The (honest) government officer, who gave me a lot of valuable information in this regard, genuinely believes that the procedure prescribed by the Bangalore D.C is a good measure; it will prevent registration of Revenue sites 
in agricultural lands on the basis of fabricated records. He states that registration of such sites have decreased around Bangalore in all the sub-Registrar’s office, due to these tough measures. In particular, he claims that this measure will prevent

(a) Transaction of agricultural land around Bangalore for non agricultural use without conversion and loss of revenue to Govt.

(b) Will require a developer to follow all the procedure and approval under various laws to form a layout.

(c) Give a valid title to the purchaser of site. 
 

He of course, admits that is is difficult to comply with all legal requirements and form a layout, but that such measures are necessary. He asserts that now there is some accountability and the Sub-Registrar has to exercise restraint in registration of properties and finally, he says that this may not increase payment of bribe, for fear of punishment under an amended  provision of Land Revenue Act!

 

I disagree with him comprehensively, and vehemently. This is a classic case of one well meaning, but badly implemented law (regulating the conversion of agricultural land to non agricultural use), leading to a snowballing of corrupt processes! As the government is unable to implement its own laws, it has continued to create one horrendous procedure after the other, and the net result is that the only way that anybody can get the transfer of a house site done in a rural area, is by bribing a succession of officials!

 

Therefore, I would venture to give you the following advice and caution you about who will demand a bribe. You will have to resist each of these levels, one by one. :

 

(a)    Approach the Gram Panchayat secretary of the Panchayat concerned along with the seller of the property and obtain the Forms 9 and 11. The GP Secretary will invariably demand a bribe! You will have to resist him.

(b)   Then, once you obtain these forms 9 and 11, you have to submit them in the GP secretaries office along with the other documents, which will be forwarded by him to the EO of the Taluk Panchayat (one more chance for them to demand a bribe!)

(c)    Then once the paper reaches the Eos office (you will have no way of knowing, because they won’t tell you, so you will have to constantly keep in touch with the EO’s office – more bribing required), the EO will countersign these forms (more bribing!).

(d)   Following this, I’m not sure what happens. One school of thought is that the EO will mail the filled in documents to the sub-registrar for registering the property. Another view is that the papers will be given to you and you can carry them to the Sub registrar, for registration! I can see even more opportunities for extraction of bribes from you!

(e)    Once these documents and the draft sale deed reaches the sub registrar’s office, he will register the property, the standard bribe of 1% applies.

 

Our volunteer, Anjana tried to find out how exactly the procedure operates. She  called the District Registrar's office in Anekal (Tel no is available at <a href="http://www.karnataka.com/real-estate/bangalore-sub-registrars.html" target="_blank">http://www.karnataka.com/real-estate/bangalore-sub-registrars.html</a>). The official reiterated the procedure that is detailed above, but  was hesitant to give information. He kept insisting that she goes there in person and shows the documents. He hinted that if the land is converted, the dealer will also be involved and the procedure will take longer. When pressed for the reason, he had none, nor was he able to say how long it would take. The Hesarghatta District registrar's office was even less forthcoming. The contact there said that he does not know the procedure for registration of Gram Panchayat sites, but he knew the general registration procedure which involved submitting stamp duty, affidavit, a DD and the property tax paid receipt. along with Forms 9 and 11! But he did not know what these forms were.   
 

I hope I have been able to make the procedure clear to you. Well, you have a challenging time ahead of you, but I do think that given patience and some techniques, you can get your work done without paying a bribe. At the worst, people will make you wait, but if your site is indeed a validly converted site, then there is no way that anybody can stop you from registering your site. Some of the standard techniques used by people who successfully resist bribing are as follows:

 

(a) Do not be submissive. Look confident. Look the person who demands a bribe 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.

(d) If something is being refusted, then ask him to show the government rule under which he is returning your application. As I said, please carry the FAQs from our website.

(e) Keep an application under the Right to Information Act ready and promptly file it before him, if he is not willing to provide the details.

(f) 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 such higher officials. In the case of the Bangalore Urban District, the DC is Mr. Aiyappa. Most people who engage in petty corruption are also cowards! They will immediately do the work. Also be ready to send complaints to the public grievance cell of the DC’s office with all details. Do this on a weekly basis, till people do your work. 

Once you do all this, most officials back off and immediately do your work. They are always afraid of knowledgeable  people.

(g) You can also have some fun by trying some Gandhigiri and pay the officials concerned in zero rupee notes. These can be downloaded from

<a href="http://india.5thpillar.org/ZRN">http://india.5thpillar.org/ZRN</a>

I hope this long winded answer is of use. If you need more help, do not hesitate to ask.

Hi Raghu, I\'ve decided to buy a property in Anekal Taluk (30 X 40) plot.We were to go for registration on 9/9/2010.During that time of registration the SRO - said that we\'re missing a document (9

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