Sub-registrar offices outside Covid-19 containment zones across the state started functioning with skeletal staff from Friday, but no property registrations were done. The government reopened 230 of the total 252 sub-registrar offices after a break of 30 days.
Revenue minister R Ashoka said no property registrations were recorded on the first day except for a few mortgage and lease deeds. The situation may continue for the next couple of weeks considering that the real estate market has stagnated post the outbreak of Covid-19, he added.
A sub-registrar said people are reluctant to visit offices and even those with scheduled registrations are not turning up. He expressed concern over reopening of offices without adequate staff as only 40% of them have been asked to work.
Property registration is one of the key generators of revenue for the government and had contributed Rs 11,100 crore during 2018-19. The revenue target for the 2020-21 financial year is Rs 14,500 crore.
“We’ve lost a potential Rs 1,000 crore in revenue from Mach 24 to April 25, through stamp duty and registration fee. On an average, the department collects between Rs 800 crore and Rs 1,000 crore a month,” Ashoka said.
“Matching the 2019-20 revenue target itself seems impossible given the crisis,” an official said. March and April are crucial months for the department as a large number of documents are registered with financial institutions pushing for housing loans to meet their targets.
KP Mohan Raj, inspector general of registrations and commissioner of stamps, said sub-registrar offices across the state have been asked to open with the permission of the deputy commissioner concerned. “Instructions have been issued on precautionary measures to be taken. However, 22 sub-registrar offices in containment zones— most of them in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Chikkaballapura— will remain shut,” he added.