The Revenue Department of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) provides a property ownership record, commonly referred to as the BBMP khata. This document serves as the official proof of ownership and is essential for various purposes, including property sales, registration, mortgages, loans, leases, and more. It is effectively the primary document used to establish and verify ownership rights.
In an online interview with Citizen Matters, Munish Moudgil, BBMP Special Commissioner (Revenue) spoke in detail about the e-khata project and how it can help property owners. Here is Part 1 of a two-part series on Frequently Asked Questions about e-Khata.
What is the e-khata project?
The e-khata project digitises all manually maintained property records, making them accessible to citizens. Over 8–9 months, all 22 lakh property records were scanned and digitised. On October 1, 2024, approximately 21.5 lakh digitised draft e-khatas, of which around 6.5 lakh B khata and 15 lakh A khata were made available online on https://bbmpeaasthi.karnataka.gov.in. This was released on a ward-wise basis with 10,000–15,000 properties (or more) per ward.
Citizens can now search for their draft e-khatas online and validate the details by submitting specific information to secure their property records:
- Aadhaar number for owner identity verification
- Sale deed or Registered Deed Number (can be retrieved directly from the Kaveri portal)
- Property Tax ID to link with the tax system
- BESCOM Number (if applicable)
- Photograph of the property (especially for vacant land without electricity).
Purpose of additional checks:
- Prevent fraud by ensuring only genuine owners can claim and manage properties.
- Avoid impersonation or unauthorised access, such as: two people with the same name attempting to claim the same property.
- Mandatory verification by the jurisdictional ARO to confirm ownership.
Final e-khata: Once all details are verified, the final e-khata is generated and linked to the owner’s Aadhaar, sale deed, property tax ID, and electricity supply number.
How is the e-khata system different from the manual khata?
- Transparency: Traditionally, khatas were maintained in approximately 5,500 physical books/registers by 64 BBMP Assistant Revenue Officers (AROs). Only the person maintaining these records had control or access to them. Unless the owner physically verified the register entry, there was no way of knowing if there were any errors. Only an extract of the entry was provided, making it non-transparent and inaccessible to the citizen. This lack of oversight made it unclear if entries were being correctly processed, defeating the purpose of maintaining accurate records.
- Standardisation: The IDs or numbers of these manual khatas and property details were inconsistently assigned to the 64 AROs. Whilst e-khata standardised records ensure uniformity and clarity.
- Fraud prevention: Earlier, there was no mechanism to prevent impersonation or unauthorised changes in the manual khata system. Now, e-khata ensures strong checks, due to Aadhaar linkage, document verification, and photo uploads.
- Accessibility: Citizens had to visit ARO offices physically to view or correct entries. Since the entire process is digitised, dependency on office visits has reduced. Citizens now have direct control and oversight of their property records.
- Integration with other systems: The e-khata seamlessly integrates with Kaveri portal (sale deeds), BESCOM (RR number), and property tax systems (PID) which were not linked earlier.
Read more: Applying for e-khata in Bengaluru: All you need to know
General process of obtaining e-khata
Q: Is e-khata mandatory for property resale or registration?
A: Yes, e-khata is now mandatory for all property transactions, including sale and resale, in sub-registrar offices. This helps prevent duplicate property sales and ensures secure property ownership documentation.
Q: Does e-khata regularise B khata properties?
A: No, e-khata does not regularise B khata properties. Both A and B khata properties will be issued corresponding e-khatas (A-e-Khata and B-e-Khata) based on existing BBMP records.
Q: Can I apply for e-khata without an Occupancy Certificate (OC)?
A: Yes, you can apply for e-khata even without an OC. The system will process your application based on the existing khata records.
Q: Why is additional information like Aadhaar, property tax ID, and sale deed details required?
A: These details are collected to ensure ownership authenticity, prevent impersonation, and link e-khata records with other systems such as property tax and electricity connections. This process safeguards against fraudulent claims.
Q. Is there a last date for applying for e-khata?
A: There is no last date, but property owners are advised to apply as soon as possible to prevent anyone from else seeding their Aadhaar to your property.
Application and Corrections
Q: How do I search for my property in the e-khata portal?
A: Use combinations of your name, property tax ID, or partial assessment number. If your name has been misspelt during digitisation, try alternate spellings. You can also visit Bengaluru One counters for assistance.
Q: When is it necessary to visit the Assistant Revenue Officer (ARO)?
A: You can visit the ARO office:
- If property record is missing – visit the ARO office to verify the manual register. If the record is not found, the ARO caseworker can digitise your property details and create a draft E-Khata.
- To correct errors in E-Khata – report any discrepancies at your ARO office, the caseworkers are authorised to make corrections, which are then verified and approved by the revenue officer.
- Joint ownership errors be corrected: Errors in joint ownership can be corrected by adding the missing owner’s details or updating Aadhaar information at the ARO office.
Q: Why does BBMP rely on manual registers instead of property tax records for digitisation?
A: The BBMP uses manual registers because they are legal property ownership records, whereas property tax records are based on citizen self-declarations and lack legal verification. Manual khata registers are created through a rigorous process, including site visits, revenue inspector reports, and legal notices, making them more reliable.
In contrast, property tax records often contain inaccuracies, such as incorrect property areas declared by citizens. Relying on these records could lead to legal disputes and errors. While using property tax records might have been easier, it would lack legal backing. Digitising the 22 lakh manual property records ensures the e-khata system is based on authenticated legal documents, providing greater accuracy and reliability.
Q: Will corrections in the e-khata be updated in manual registers?
A: No, the manual registers will eventually be phased out as the e-khata system becomes the primary legal record.
Q: Can I correct errors in the e-khata later?
A: Yes, you can approach the ARO office to correct errors even after the final e-khata is issued.
Part 2 of the series looks at property ownership and transaction, technical and portal issues, apartment-specific queries, name/data corrections, language/format issues, special cases — non-resident owners and inheritance, ward/location issues and fees and process.
Dear Sandhya,
Thanks for the insightful article.Could you advice on the process when one of the joint owner passes away. Can that change and update be done online or would one need to visit the ARO office ?
Thanks Nishita
In case of A khata if BDA/BBMP Plan approval and plan copy lost shall I get Ekhata
My property ID has been entered wrongly by the Authorities I have approached the ARO at Kengeri ward no. 198. Nearly 4 to 5 times I had gone to make the corrections in survery which was entered as 912 instead of 9/2. I do not know how to check whether they have corrected the mistake through online without down loading the e khatha paying the Rs.125/- each time.
Hi All,
Any quires or concerts in geeing E kATHA. we will answered in katha mela stating soon.there are lot of issues with name mismatch and owner name not showing and incorrect details. all those will be sorted out soon.
one clarification, for our house property there are 3 owners my mother, my brother and myself. but in the PORTAL for e-khatta there is provision for e-KYC for only TWO owners hence the application is getting rejected. what is the way out? how to do systematically THREE owners e-KYC in the portal to generate and get clearance for e-Khatta ?
I find from the e-khatha issued on my name, they left the sq.ft of car parking area. For correction, approached ARO of Bilehalli and handed over the copy of the property documents once again with the covering letter. Even after 15 days, I am yet to receive the corrected e-khatha. ARO is not picking up the calls. Always switch ed off. What next step I have to take to get the corrected e-khatha. I am very much worried.
My e khata application has been approved. But there is a mistake in the boundaries. East and west details are interchanged even though I had entered the details correctly. How this can be corrected? My property was registered in 1992
MR Gopinath, did you find a solution to this. I have the same issue.
i had flat and i an trying to do an e-Khata but it is not allow me to do this, the issue is that flat system doesn’t have the North to south dimension and East to West dimension. how to solve this issue. Kindly guide.
Final EKATHA corrections should be allowed online to Citizens. It should be contactless to prevent middlemen or even BBMP staff squeezing gullible public. BBMP has to evolve a solid proof method so as to enable Citizens to get Perfect EKATHA finally. The reason is before esigning system asks public to download the application submitted, check and then upload. But when final EKATHA is downloaded, errors are found in many cases. Under such situations asking Citizens to visit BBMP office/AROs is unfair.