Land mutation to be must in Bengal

TT, Pranesh Sarkar, Calcutta: People buying land in Bengal may have to pay a mutation fee while registering their plots from January 1 next year, a move that is expected to earn the government Rs 500 crore in revenue annually.

So far, purchasing land parcels and mutation of the property were two different exercises. Until now, land could be bought from a person who had the title record (commonly known as dalil) of the plot. But the mutation of the land - change in the title ownership - was deemed optional and many buyers would steer clear of it as it involved a fee and lot of paperwork.

"A large number of people who buy land avoid the process of mutation as it requires paperwork and payment of a fee. As mutation was never made mandatory, people hardly faced any trouble to re-sell their land or use it for other purposes," said a senior government official.

Once mutation is made mandatory, under a system called "automatic mutation", a person would have to pay the fee at the time of registration. The land department would then update the records and the mutation certificate would be issued within 48 hours, sources said.

"Records of rights ( parcha in common parlance) have been digitised in all the 341 blocks of the state. The digitised land records would now be linked to the registration offices, which work under the finance department. Once a fresh registration is done, the land department would get the information online and the mutation certificate would be issued," an official explained.

According to the officials, the move will not only help bring at least Rs 500 crore to the state exchequer, but also stop forgery over land deals.

"We often receive complaints that people have been duped after they purchased land on forged title records. Now, people who have the rights of record would be able to sell land. As only original landowners would do such deals, no forgery would take place," said an official.

A senior official said that earlier this year, the state government had hiked the mutation fee by about 100 per cent in an attempt to generate more revenue. "But after the hike, lesser number of people went for mutation."

As of now, one has to pay Rs 40 as mutation fee for each decimal of agricultural plot while the amount is Rs 500 for one decimal of commercial plots. The fee for commercial plots would be Rs 1,000 a decimal if the quantum of land is over 10 decimals.

The fee, however, is higher in areas under the KMDA.