Chhattisgarh govt launches 'Sugam App' for online property registration and curbing frauds

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh government's newly launched app for online registration of property has been getting a good response with more than 1,200 registrations being done through the platform since its inception earlier this week, an official said on Thursday.

The application, called 'Sugam (convenient) App', was launched on October 21 with an aim to make the property registration process more transparent and user-friendly, the public relations department official said.

Since its launch, the app has gained popularity, facilitating over 1,200 property registrations across the state and marking a significant shift towards online registration, he said.

"The government is committed towards more and more technological applications and procedural improvements in the registry work for citizen empowerment. The Sugam app is an important step towards preventing property related fraud," state's Finance Minister O P Choudhary said in a statement.

Complaints pertaining to property registration often surfaced wherein people would become victims of fraud in many ways.

There have been reports of a single property being sold to different people and in some cases, registries done for properties which do not actually exist. There have also been instances where land designated for roads, pathways or gardens was sold fraudulently.

In some cases, more land is sold than what is physically available. These incidents contribute to disputes and increase court cases, the official said.

Under the Sugam App, during the process of registration, the party concerned will physically go to the property which is under the deal and click its pictures from three different angles as directed in the app.

The photos will automatically be transferred to the registrar's module for registering the latitude and longitude of the property.

In this way, the actual geographical position of the property will permanently be recorded in the registry paper, so the party can go to that property anytime and identify it, the official said.

The app will also help in curbing revenue loss to the government. The actual structure of the property will be known through the app, curbing revenue loss to the government, he added.