Mumbai: Buoyed by the success of the recently launched One District One Registration scheme, the state government is now working towards the more ambitious One State One Registration programme for property transactions. However, officials are facing 13 significant hurdles that could impede its smooth rollout.
This initiative has been marked as a priority under the government’s 100-day programme assigned to each department. Encouragingly, the One District One Registration scheme — which allows property documents to be registered at any office within the same district — has already shown promise. Since its launch on May 1, over 15,000 documents have been registered across various districts.
Under One State One Registration, citizens will be able to register property documents at any registration office across the entire state, not just within the same district. But the Revenue Department, headed by BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule, has flagged several challenges in its implementation. Among the key hurdles flagged by officials are impersonations during property registration and fraudulent claims made in the name of deceased individuals. Farmers—especially in hilly regions near proposed mega projects—are being duped into parting with their land, while individual family members often register sale deeds without the consent of joint owners.
Properties not registered with MahaRERA continue to slip through the cracks, even as illiterate and poorly educated sellers are routinely exploited. The state also loses revenue due to widespread underpayment of stamp duty. In response, the Revenue Department has issued guidelines for officials and warned of legal action in case of non-compliance. Specifically, the department cautioned sub-registrars against allowing registrations involving impersonation or sale of tribal land without the requisite state government approval.
Violations could invite action under Sections 82 and 83 of the Registration Act, which permit legal proceedings against erring officials. Despite many fraudulent registrations in the past, these provisions have rarely been invoked. The department has now instructed District Joint Registrars (Class I) and Collectors of Stamps to inspect registration offices every fortnight and submit detailed reports.
