Ever since the launch of Haryana’s new paperless property registration system — described as “modern, fully paperless and citizen-friendly” — in the beginning of this month, technical glitches have slowed down operations considerably in some tehsils of the state. In a tehsil in Panchkula district, only 16 property registrations have been completed in 12 days, compared to the earlier average of 20–22 registrations per day.
To address the technical issues, Financial Commissioner (Revenue) Dr Sumita Misra on Thursday convened a meeting with all deputy commissioners, directing them to streamline procedures and resolve technical issues to ensure smoother online registrations.
On Haryana Day on November 1, the state government implemented a fully paperless deed registration process across the state. Ahead of the launch, Misra had described it as “a historic leap” as the state moved from a 58-year-old manual registration system to a “modern, fully paperless and citizen-friendly” model.
“For the first time, citizens will be able to register property deeds from anywhere, without running from one office to another. Payments, verification, and approvals — everything will be done online, through a single, integrated portal,” Misra had said.
However, after nearly two weeks, many applicants seeking registration of deeds for property transactions, transfers, and wills are struggling to navigate the new system.
One of the registrations completed on Thursday involved a deal between a farmer and a resident from villages in Panchkula. An associate of the parties said: “It took four days to upload all the documents before the agricultural land property could be registered on Thursday. We had come early in the morning but the portal became functional only after 1 pm.” “Even under this system, we have to print copies of all the documents and then upload them on the portal, along with a PDF version,” he added.
A resident of Chandimandir, Jaipal Singh, said he wanted to sell a piece of agricultural land but the deal could not proceed because the records of his land have not yet been uploaded on the portal.
Explaining the glitches, a local agent involved in documentation for property registration said: “In the case of group housing society deals, the portal asks for the ID of Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), which is difficult for a common man to obtain. There is also a mismatch in land measurement parameters. HSVP uses square yards, while urban local bodies use square metres.”
“For any lease deed registration, the portal asks for permission from HSVP, though no such provision actually exists. Where consolidation has not been completed, the portal fails to recognise traditional yardsticks like bigha and biswa,” the agent added.
Another agent remarked: “In land exchange cases, gair mumkin (non-cultivable) land is treated as commercial land, whereas earlier such exchanges were free of cost. Sometimes, the portal even picks villages outside the concerned tehsil, which causes confusion.”
A revenue official from Panchkula acknowledged that being a new system, technical issues do arise but they are resolved. “The number of registrations has also started picking up — on Tuesday, seven registrations were completed in a single day. To assist people, we have set up a help desk as well,” the official added.
Meanwhile, Deed Writer Welfare Association president Pradeep Sharma suggested that the government constitute a five-member committee comprising representatives from the association and the revenue department to improve the newly launched system.
During a video conference with deputy commissioners on Thursday, Financial Commissioner Misra directed them to establish dedicated help desks at every tehsil and appoint nodal officers whose contact details must be made publicly available to assist citizens. She also instructed that a state-level helpline number be launched immediately to provide real-time support for those facing technical or procedural issues with paperless registration. To safeguard data from accidental loss, all filled documents will now be automatically saved for seventy-two hours before deletion, while registration fees will remain applicable throughout the process until completion.
She noted that only seven of the twelve review days had been effective working days, as five were consumed by document approval processes, and observed that the system was now stabilising across tehsils.
Reviewing performance data between November 1 and November 12, Misra reported that 5,334 applications were received across the state, of which 2,110 deeds were approved; 915 applications were under submission; 611 approved by Sub-Registrars; and 626 rejected due to documentation or technical errors. Officials highlighted that compared with the previous review period from September 29 to October 31— when only 1,662 applications and 1,074 approvals were recorded — both applications and approvals have more than doubled, reflecting rapid adaptation to the digital platform.
Among districts, Kurukshetra led with 810 applications and 524 approvals, followed by Mahendragarh with 428 applications and 205 approvals, Karnal with 409 applications and 208 approvals, and Jind with 384 applications and 131 approvals. Faridabad, Gurugram, and Yamunanagar also reported steady growth, while Sirsa, Charkhi Dadri, and Panipat are expected to improve as familiarity with the new system increases.
Technical glitches have slowed Haryana’s new paperless property registration system, prompting intervention from the Revenue Department. (Express Photo) 
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