Registration Department adopts blockchain system to prevent tampering of registered documents

The Registration Department has started shifting various registered documents to the blockchain system as part of a move to protect these from tampering.

A senior official of the Registration Department said at present, the registered documents, which date back to 1865, are digitised and stored under STAR 2.0 software – upgraded from STAR 1.0 five years ago.

The software, which has been outsourced to a private information technology company, is being used under Starlink system, with digitised files maintained by the same company through a centralised server.

However, in a bid to protect the registered documents stored in four volumes, the department, having tied up with Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA), has started upgrading the documents files into blockchain system using hash algorithm software, as used in cryptocurrencies transactions.

Of the four volumes maintained by the Registration Department, volumes of 1, 3 and 4, which comprise details of property, mortgaging transaction and buyer and seller details will be protected under the blockchain system. Volume 2 has been exempted from blockchain maintenance. 

The Registration Department has also started issuing certified copies – stamped with the seal of Nambikkai Inaiyam (blockchain logo) – to the document owners engaged in registering documents from May last year. This will be after comparing the documents with the hash algorithms maintained by the TNeGA. This process is to show that the document is a foolproof certified copy. 

The move to upgrade the documents comes in the wake of senior officials of the department having detected tampering of old documents in certain cases, including incidents of altered documents that enabled land scams at St. Thomas Mount village, Virugambakkam and Tambaram. The documents pertaining to a land parcel at St. Thomas Mount village were reportedly tampered by some individuals, allegedly in collusion with registration officials, and the originals were replaced. Chengalpattu Collector A.R. Rahul Nadh took steps to cancel the pattas and the registered documents, and reclaimed land worth more than ₹250 crore. 

Though registered documents dating back to 1865 were digitised, patta details of around 18 villages, including St. Thomas Mount, some pockets of Hosur and a few villages in other parts of the State are yet to be digitised. This supposedly led to the land scam in St. Thomas Mount village. Such registered documents were kept in the local servers maintained at the sub registrar offices.

Physical documents at some offices have incurred damages, too, owing to natural calamities.

Considering these factors, the Department is planning to protect the entire compilation of documents using blockchain system.