In a bid to curb fraudulent transactions resulting in revenue loss to the State government, the Tamil Nadu Registration Department has made it mandatory to include photographs of properties with geographic coordinates as part of the registered document.
With effect from October 1, Sub-Registrars in the State have been directed to include photos with geographic coordinates of the immovable asset presented for registration. According to official sources, the move will help in ascertaining the exact location of the property in transaction and prevent registration of plots with buildings being shown as vacant land.
Though Sub-Registrars were mandated to personally inspect properties mentioned in the document to verify and confirm the occupancy position, there had been instances where photos of neighbouring empty plots were fraudulently shown to reduce the quantum of registration/stamp fee, the sources said.
As per the new rule, the photos with the coordinates must be attached to the digital record, and a copy of it, attested by the seller and buyer, must be enclosed with the registered document. However, this norm would not apply to online presentation and registration, documents pertaining to bank loans or mortgage, receipts issued to banking and other financial institutions, and will documents.
EC from 1950
Sources in the State government said Encumbrance Certificates (EC) from 1950 to 1974 were now available for the general public to access and download online. The government had sanctioned ₹36.58 crore to digitise ECs (Schedule-II Record from January 1, 1950 to December 31, 1974.
Once the records are computerised and uploaded in the system, applicants could access and download ECs from this period free of cost, the sources said.