Linking Aadhaar to Property, a change indeed!

The Aadhaar Card has become a subject of debate today, as almost every important document and aspect of your life needs to be linked to it. From your PAN card to your Bank Account to your Mobile Number to your Insurance Policy. Today when the Aadhaar Card is necessary for so many government schemes, it is only natural that it be linked with the real estate segment as well.

The government’s decision to link all property related transactions to Aadhaar cards and biometric verification is aimed at eliminating benami transactions in the Indian Real Estate Sector. This move has been welcomed by experts as it is expected to add more transparency to the process in the long run. As quoted by Mr. Nandan Piramal, Director of Sales and Marketing, Peninsula Land Ltd. – “We support the government’s initiative to link Aadhaar card with all property transactions. It is an excellent step towards creating a more transparent environment that will bring in accountability in real estate dealings.”

On the flip side, users who have not applied for an Aadhaar will have to face delays when it comes to registration of their property.

It is estimated that 60 % of the black money in the country is spent on residential and commercial properties. The biggest advantage of linking Aadhaar Cards to all property transactions is to help the various government agencies keep a check on unlawful real estate transactions. Aadhaar card based land transactions will prevent duplicity and also establish the identity of sellers and purchasers once the project is implement across the length and breadth of the country.

After Aadhaar Cards are linked, there will be a central database of ownership of each property and it will be relatively easier for the tax departments to find out if the owner of a property is paying taxes the taxes he is supposed to and whether his income is sufficient to justify ownership of the property. If it is not, it is clear the property is a benami one, which can be seized by the government.

Digitisation of land records has already been completed in states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra. The linking of land records with Aadhaar will soon follow in these states.

The move to link Aadhaar to property transactions is bound to have repercussions in the real estate sector. An opinion is that the real estate sector which has slowed down because of demonetisation will take longer to recover.

But another school of thought is more positive. The move is expected to increase transparency and provide an important data base of sales and pricing trends.