UP to roll out uniform online mutation of properties soon

Plan will cover 17 municipal corporations, 60 AMRUT towns in first phase and will be extended to all 707 local bodies later

LUCKNOW: The urban development department in Uttar Pradesh is giving the final touches to the much-delayed plan to have a uniform process of online mutation of properties. Mutation of a property is done to change or transfer the title entry in revenue records of the local municipal corporation.

In the first phase, implementation of the plan could begin by next week in 17 municipal corporations, as well as 60 AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) towns in the state, officials said.

It will be gradually rolled out across all the 707 local bodies in the state, officials said.

AMRUT scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 for ensuring robust infrastructure, including sewage and water supply networks, in cities covered under it.

The online mutation initiative would help people cut through the maze of red tape and confusion, feel experts.

Online mutation is also a part of the ease of doing initiatives to facilitate industry and investment in the state and a government order in this regard has already been issued by principal secretary, urban development, Deepak Kumar.

Currently, the mutation fee differs from one place to another and this is something which the government plans to make uniform.

“As of now, the mutation fee differs from place to place. In Lucknow, for instance, the mutation fee is one per cent of the property’s actual registration cost.

In some others, it is slab-based. We intend to make it uniform and for this purpose, a committee has been set up,” an official of the urban development department said.

The uniform fee process would take time, but online mutation would be first up. According to the government order, the mutation would be ensured within 45 days, officials said.

“The online mutation plan would help get rid of several other problems too. It would raise the revenue of the state because once the process goes online, there would be complete transparency on the issue and it would be impossible to get mutation done without paying the prescribed fees,” he said.

“The plan has already been delayed for long. Even now, online mutation is happening, but that is mostly staggered and taking place along with offline mutation which is happening mostly in cases of contested properties.

Going forward, we intend to have a uniform system of online mutation, one which is implemented across the state in all the 707 local bodies,” he said.

The process also includes ensuring a common server for all municipal corporations unlike the present system which differs from one municipal corporation to another,” the official said.

As of now, no government body has any data on the total income generated through mutation, something which would be possible once the entire process is online and on a common server, officials said.

THE ONLINE MUTATION INITIATIVE WOULD HELP PEOPLE CUT THROUGH THE MAZE OF RED TAPE AND CONFUSION, FEEL EXPERTS.