In Bengaluru, since the Khata system was rolled out for property tax matters, it has been a boon for many homeowners. But, it’s not all smooth sailing; there are some real challenges too. For those who aren’t familiar, Khata is an official record for identification of a property, its owner and tax assessments. It’s essential for things like property registration and getting utility connections.
A user on X pointed out a practical problem with the new Khata system, particularly concerning revenue lands. If someone owns a revenue land and needs to obtain a Khata, something that was not previously possible due to it being classified as revenue land from a Partition deed, they find that there’s no option available on the new website. This option was, however, available in the old website.
What are revenue plots and what is the issue which some landowners are facing?
Revenue plots are lands originally recorded in revenue department records rather than municipal records. Many such properties were part of erstwhile village panchayat areas or unregularised layouts that later came under BBMP jurisdiction.
Even if owners have registered partition deeds, RTCs, conversion orders, tax-paid receipts, or mutation entries, their property might still lack a municipal khata generated in the system.
Vipin Upadhyay, Partner, King Stubb and Kasiva, told ET Wealth Online that the concern highlighted by the landowner is a genuine issue emerging from the city’s new e-Khata and property tax portal.
According to users, the current system only permits khata transfer or mutation where an existing khata number is already available in municipal records. However, in many cases involving revenue plots, no prior khata exists at all.
According to Upadhyay, this becomes problematic in cases where ownership has devolved through partition deeds, family settlements, inheritance, or older revenue records.
The user feedback indicates that the previous portal allowed applicants to apply for khata creation even without an existing khata number, whereas the new portal appears to have removed or not incorporated that option.
Upadhyay says: “As a result, genuine owners are currently unable to apply for A Khata or even B Khata because the portal workflow itself requires a pre-existing khata number, creating a procedural deadlock.”
How can this problem be solved?
The issue can be resolved through a combination of technical changes and administrative clarification. Upadhayay explains what can be and should be done by the government:
The portal should introduce a fresh Khata creation option
The portal should introduce a dedicated option for “fresh khata creation where no existing khata number exists.” This category should specifically accommodate applications arising from partition deeds, inheritance, family arrangements, revenue records, and other title-based documents.
At present, the system appears to assume that every property already has a municipal khata history, which is not the reality in Bengaluru’s land ecosystem. The portal architecture must therefore account for first-time municipal record creation, particularly for revenue plots entering the formal tax system.
Authorities need to allow uploading of partition deed, RTC extracts also
Authorities should also permit applicants to upload supporting documents such as partition deeds, RTC extracts, mutation records, conversion certificates, and previous tax receipts to initiate verification. A backend scrutiny and field verification mechanism can then determine eligibility for A or B Khata issuance.
Also, integration of the revenue department databases and municipal databases would significantly reduce these problems. Upadhyay says: “Many genuine owners remain outside the digital framework simply because older land records have not yet been synchronised with municipal systems.”
Most importantly, the government should issue a public clarification or standard operating procedure specifically addressing revenue plot owners and partition deed cases so that citizens understand the correct process instead of facing repeated rejection or uncertainty.
Is there any other practical problem about the Khata system?
According to Upadhyay, a recurring practical issue in Bengaluru’s khata ecosystem is that digitisation has moved faster than record reconciliation.
Many legacy properties have discrepancies in dimensions, ownership names, survey details, bifurcation records, or tax history because records evolved manually over decades.
Upadhyay says: “When these records are migrated into a strict digital framework, many genuine owners find themselves unable to proceed due to technical mismatches rather than legal defects.”
According to Upadhyay, another major concern is the absence of a robust grievance resolution framework within the portal. Applicants frequently receive generic rejection messages without explaining the precise defect, the corrective documentation required, or the competent authority to approach.
Upadhyay says: “This increases dependency on intermediaries and defeats the objective of transparent digital governance.”
There is also a larger urban governance concern.
Bengaluru’s ongoing push toward A Khata conversion and property record digitisation is an important reform initiative.Upadhyay says that unless the system accommodates legacy ownership structures, revenue plots, partition-based ownership, and first-time khata applicants, a significant section of genuine property owners may remain excluded from the formal municipal framework despite possessing legally valid ownership documents.
