The Inspector General of Registration and Stamps (IGR) department has disabled the “skip” option in its software used by junior officers, including joint district registrars and sub-registrars, during the land registration process. The move comes in the wake of alleged irregularities in the registration of government land in Mundhwa and Tathawade, which reportedly caused a loss of crores of rupees to the state exchequer in the form of stamp duty and also led to criminal cases.
The decision was made on Wednesday and came into effect the same day.
Officials said the “skip” option played a major role in bypassing mandatory verification checks during land registrations. Under the new system, the option can now be used only after obtaining mandatory permission from the IGR department, a step aimed at increasing transparency and preventing misuse in property registrations.
“The skip facility was originally introduced so that citizens did not face inconvenience or delays during document registration when technical problems occurred in the system. However, some officers misused the provision without keeping senior officials informed, damaging the credibility and reputation of the IGR department,” a senior official requesting anonymity said.
The government has also merged the IGR and land records departments in a move aimed at improving accountability and ensuring smoother functioning between registration and revenue authorities. Officials said that with the integration, sub-registrars now have online access to 7/12 extracts and mutation records during the registration process, reducing the need to bypass verification procedures.
