Khata certificate without a bribe? Are you joking!
One particular topic, the mention of which is akin to setting the cat among the pigeons in Bangalore, is the procurement of a khata certificate. This document, which indicates property ownership, is issued by the local civic body, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP), the panchayat or the Bangalore Development Authority, depending on the location. According to our Bangalore respondents, bribe amounts being paid for this vital document run upwards of Rs 5,000 only and touch even Rs 50,000 for huge plots.
In the latest complaint filed in this connection, our bribe-complainant based in Banaswadi had to pay Rs 23,000 as bribe and still wait for two months to obtain the certificate. http://www.ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/23000-flat-bribe-khatha. One of our more innocent respondents tried to procure the certificate without payment of any bribe a decade ago. And, believe it or not, his property did not get registered at all for ten long years. Finally, he paid Rs 50,000 recently and got it registered in his name! Files going “lost” or “waiting for superior’s signature” are routine euphemisms used by officials to hint for a bribe.
Is it ever possible to obtain a khata certificate without payment of a bribe? This rhetorical query was posed by one of our respondents. Perhaps an answer to his or her query and an inspiration to all of us is this person from Banaswadi who got the certificate without greasing palms. He persevered in his attempts and went to the local BBMP office on eight consecutive working days and got his job done (http://ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/got-khata-transferred-without-any-bribe). A laudable aspect is that this bribe-fighter refused to take the hint to pay a bribe when told that his documents were missing. He merely brought another set of documents the following day! Probably, a lesson for all of us to take a stand against bribery and cultivate some patience.