THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the Government is preparing for online mutation (pokkuvaravu) across the state, the officials in the village, taluk and other revenue offices are quite apprehensive about its implementation, as there is a dearth of qualified staff who can handle documents online. Moreover, doubts have also been raised if online mutation would be foolproof.
‘No Glitches So Far’
The government says that it is being smoothly implemented in the Palakkad district and no complaints have cropped till now. However, those who are apprehensive said that though Palakkad is claimed to be a success, the government is yet to prove it. They also pointed out the possibility of technical error when registration of documents are made online.
Stating that there was no cause for worry when online mutation was introduced, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash said that the online facility that was introduced in Palakkad district was functioning in a smooth manner. However, he pointed out that once the resurvey is completed, everything would be streamlined. “Once online mutation comes into force, there will not be any complaints with regard to land transactions,” he said.
Curb Bogus Deals
Once online mutation is completely introduced across the state, the government thinks of monitoring all land transactions and hopes that all suspicious land transactions in sensitive areas could be curbed. A document registered in one place can be checked at any place, which helps in checking bogus transactions.
Doubts on Efficacy
However, employees with the revenue department and the document writers forum have expressed doubts about the efficacy of online mutation.
Kerala Document Writers, Scribes and Stamp Vendors Welfare Board member Mannoorkonam Sathyan said that there are not enough qualified staff in the revenue offices who can handle documents online. Once online mutation comes into effect, there are chances of more delay and extra financial burden on the part of people, he said. Pointing out that around 50,000 document and scribe writers were in the state, he expressed his fear that the proposed reforms in the registration department will render them jobless and adversely affect their livelihood. However, he said that once all offices are integrated under the system, there would be more transparency.
Staff Crunch
Kerala Revenue Department Staff Association president K Sreekantan Nair noted that the government before implementing the programme should have equipped the offices with the necessary infrastructure. “There is now a dearth of qualified staff who are proficient in the new methods. IOT was better that the government had taken an initiative in this regard first,” he said.
Pointing out that online mutation will bring in a revolutionary change with respect to all land dealings, Kerala Land Revenue Staff Association secretary M K Krishnan Namboothiri maintained that revenue offices in the state were yet to be fully equipped. “The registrar, village and taluk offices should be linked if there is a foolproof online mechanism. We all know that revenue offices are yet to be computerised,” he said.