Bengaluru: Non-resident Indians and legal heirs living outside Karnataka can now transfer inherited agricultural land records to their names with greater ease, following a simplification of rules by the state govt.The revenue department on Wednesday amended guidelines for Pauti Khata, the official process of mutating agricultural land records into the names of legal heirs after the death of a landowner.Under the revised framework, legal heirs residing permanently in other states can apply by submitting a digitally issued family tree certificate, a legal heir certificate, or a succession certificate issued by a competent authority or civil court. The documents must be translated into English and accompanied by a notarised affidavit on Rs 100 stamp paper.To complete the process, all Indian heirs listed in the family tree must submit their Aadhaar documents and undergo mandatory e-KYC authentication via OTP or biometrics. Foreign citizens are exempt from Aadhaar e-KYC and must instead provide copies of their passports.For families where every legal heir holds foreign citizenship, a succession certificate from a civil court remains mandatory. In such cases, applicants must submit their request in person at the local Nada Kacheri in the jurisdictional hobli, along with passport copies and notarised affidavits supporting the succession certificate, death certificate, and family tree.However, if only a few family members hold foreign citizenship, the Indian citizen heirs can obtain the family tree certificate and initiate the mutation process on behalf of the family.Once applications are submitted at the hobli Nada Kacheri, the village administration officer will upload the supporting documents into the e-Pauti software and process them under existing rules. Rajender Kumar Kataria, additional chief secretary of the revenue department, has instructed the revenue commissionerate to update the software infrastructure accordingly.Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara, who holds revenue portfolio, said the simplified procedure would address long-standing hurdles for dispersed families. “Ownership of agricultural land held in the names of deceased persons is being transferred to their respective legal heirs through Pauti Khata,”Parameshwara said. “The rules have been simplified to facilitate this for those residing in other states and abroad, which will benefit a large number of people.”
