Patna: In a major move to improve ease of living for senior citizens, the Bihar government will soon allow land registration to be completed at the homes of people aged 80 years and above. Under the new system, if a buyer is purchasing land from an elderly person, the registrar will visit the senior citizen’s residence for verification and registration, sparing them repeated trips to the registration office.
To avail the facility, the senior citizen will have to apply online through the e-Nibandhan portal and pay a fixed fee of Rs 400. Once the applicant enters their age as 80 or above on the portal, they will get the option to choose whether they want the registration done at home or at the office. After selecting the preferred option, the applicant can choose a date and time for registration.
At the scheduled time, officials from the registration office will visit the applicant’s home with a mobile registration unit. The entire process — including biometric verification — will be completed digitally, and the registry will be finalised online.
System update underway, rollout from April 1
The e-Nibandhan portal is currently being upgraded to include the home-registration option for senior citizens. Officials said the software update will be completed in February, followed by a trial phase. The full system is planned to be implemented across Bihar from April 1.
Before the rollout, all 141 registration offices in the state will be equipped with laptops, biometric Aadhaar verification machines and other necessary equipment to support the mobile registration units.
While the Prohibition, Excise and Registration Department does not maintain separate data on senior citizens, the Election Commission estimates that Bihar has 4,87,219 voters aged above 80 years.
Part of ‘Digital Ease of Living’ push
The initiative is part of the state government’s push towards digital ease of living under the “7 Nischay-3” programme, particularly its seventh goal, “Sabka Samman – Jeevan Aasan,” which aims to reduce daily-life difficulties for citizens and make public services more accessible.
Once the registration is completed, both buyer and seller will receive a link on their mobile phones. The registered document can then be downloaded immediately.
Why the change was needed
Until now, if a senior citizen was ill or physically unable to visit the registration office, they had to submit a medical certificate. After that, the registrar would appoint an official to visit the house and manually collect thumb impressions, photographs and witness signatures. The entire process depended on the registrar’s discretion and carried risks related to identity verification and fraud.
Benefits of the new system
Officials say the new system will directly benefit around five lakh elderly people in Bihar. It will make the land registration process simpler, reduce the chances of fraud in property transactions and ensure transparency through biometric and digital verification.
How to apply
Senior citizens only need to apply online through the e-Nibandhan portal. After the application is submitted and the fee is paid, a departmental team will visit the applicant’s home on the scheduled date with a mobile registration unit and complete the entire process on the spot.
The government believes this reform will make land registration more humane, efficient and citizen-friendly for Bihar’s elderly population.
