Buxar: Registrations of land and property registrations have declined in Buxar district since the rollout of paperless registration system on Aug 3. Officials and deed writers attributed the slowdown to difficulties faced by villagers, farmers and elderly people in adapting to the Aadhaar-linked digital process.The district has two registration centres, at Buxar and Dumraon. Before the rollout of the paperless system, the Buxar office recorded 40-50 registrations daily, while the Dumraon office handled around 30, according to officials. However, since Aug 3, only 12 registrations have been completed at the Buxar office. No registration was carried out on Tuesday, while only three were recorded on Wednesday. A similar trend has been reported at the Dumraon registration office, where only 11 registrations have been completed since the launch of the new system.According to officials, registration work could not begin on Tuesday as the registration account failed to open. On Wednesday, only four people took appointments for registration. Deed writers said many villagers, particularly farmers, elderly people and those with limited digital literacy, were struggling to adapt to the paperless process.Ashutosh Lal, a deed writer in Dumraon, said many rural residents were hesitant about the new system. “Farmers and less educated people in villages are not showing much interest in paperless registration. They find it difficult to trust a process that does not involve physical documents and signatures,” he said.A local land seller echoed the concern, saying people accustomed to conventional registration procedures were confused by the Aadhaar-linked digital process.Sub-registrar Asit Kumar Singh said, “The paperless registration system is more convenient and secure than the earlier process. Under the new arrangement, registration is no longer carried out on physical stamp paper and the entire process is digitally linked to Aadhaar.” Singh said the Aadhaar-based system does not compromise the authenticity or security of registered documents and would help prevent fraudulent transactions and impersonation.Officials said another key change was the reduced role of middlemen and brokers, with applicants now required to complete registration through the prescribed digital process.However, the sharp decline in registrations suggests that many people are yet to become comfortable with the new system. Officials said awareness drives and assistance at registration offices may be required to help farmers, as elderly residents and digitally inexperienced applicants do not understand the Aadhaar-based procedure.
