CHENNAI: The Office of the Inspector General of Registration is inviting private companies to run premium property registration centres, where buyers and sellers would pay up to Rs 10,000 per transaction for faster, more comfortable service, with the operator taking a share of the fees, official sources said.
The tender issued on October 16 is for a managed service provider to set up and run 25 Model Registration Hubs (MRHs).
Five pilot hubs would open first in Ambattur, Thiruvanmiyur, T Nagar, Sriperumbudur and Coimbatore North. Another 20, at locations still to be chosen, would follow only if the pilot succeeds, sources said.
The pilot hubs must be live within 60 days of the contract being signed. The state would spend no capital. The winning bidder would receive a monthly fixed fee for each hub, plus a share of what citizens pay. Each hub’s contract would run for five years, extendable by two years, the official said.
Citizens using a hub would pay Rs 2,000 for a standard service, Rs 5,000 for a Tatkal standard service, Rs 7,000 for a premium service and Rs 10,000 for a Tatkal premium one, on top of the normal registration fees. The department would take 75% of the standard charges and 65% of premium ones respectively. GST at 18% would be levied only on the operator’s share.
The tender stresses that sub-registrars would continue to handle every statutory function, from admitting execution to registering documents, and the operator has no role in them.
The bar for entry is high. A bidder, or the lead member of a consortium of up to two, needs average annual turnover of at least Rs 500 crore, net worth of Rs 100 crore, 1,000 employees and experience of at least 25 citizen service centres, such as Passport Seva Kendras or registration offices. It must also have IT integration projects worth Rs 100 crore or more, and hold ISO and CMMI certifications.
Penalties are stiff. Delays attract liquidated damages of 0.5 per cent of a hub’s contract value a week, capped at 10 per cent. Service-level breaches, covering uptime, helpdesk response and staff attendance, can cost up to 10 percent of a hub’s monthly invoice.
A pre-bid meeting is due on October 26. Bids close on November 16 and technical bids open the next day.
