Curbing corruption in Registration dept is first priority, says minister

Chennai: With complaints of corruption continuing to dog the registration department, the Tamil Nadu govt will roll out a series of measures to reduce graft and improve transparency, said Commercial Taxes and Registration minister D Logesh Tamilselvan.

Speaking to the Times of India, the minister said that chief minister C Joseph Vijay had promised clean governance in the state. “He has identified a few departments where corruption is rampant, and registration is one of them. The CM is very clear on eradicating bribery and has been following up regularly,” said the minister.

He said that, as a first step, the department, which is one of the state’s most public-facing departments, has introduced an online system for the first sale of flats, plots, mortgages, and receipts, which together make up nearly 30% of the department’s revenue. “It will be rolled out in a month to reduce direct interaction between the public and officials, and will reduce crowds at the sub-registrar Offices. The process is very simple. Reputed builders and developers associations will install UIDAI-approved biometric devices and a webcam,” he said.

The second and subsequent sales and registration of power of attorney documents will also be made online soon. Another initiative by the minister is to create a dedicated helpline to report corruption.

Logesh Tamilselvan said the public can also reach out to him on X. “Recently, someone tagged me on social media about SROs making parents’ presence mandatory for registering marriages. When I enquired, it was due to confusion about two orders passed in 2017 and 2018. I clarified and sorted out the issue,” he added.