Bengaluru residents are facing months-long delays in getting e-khata approvals. Many applications are rejected without clear reasons or remain pending for months. A key problem is the lack of signatures from Assistant Revenue Officers (AROs). "Without ARO’s signature, who is the concerned authority, an application cannot proceed for approval," said a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) official. The shortage and absence of AROs at ward level have created a big backlog. This signature issue can only be verified manually, delaying hundreds of applications across wards. Adding to this problem is the city’s new property registration software, which does not reveal why applications are rejected. "Applications can be refused only on three grounds — if the land belongs to the government, if there is a pending court case, or if a fraudulent transaction is involved. However, the system does not flag which of these grounds, if any, caused the rejection," officials explained. This forces manual cross-checking, slowing the process and increasing the backlog. The GBA also faces a shortage of IT staff to fix errors related to data mismatches, signature verifications, and fee payments. "Revenue teams encounter errors but lack enough technical support to quickly resolve them," said the official. Data from North Corporation, one of GBA’s five corporations, highlights the scale of the problem, which is similar citywide. Nearly 22% of all book-khata applications, over 3,600 out of 16,931, are rejected or pending. For new khata applications, a staggering 78%—5,367 out of 6,826—are stuck since September 10. Wards like Attur (438 pending), Thanisandra (410), and Jakkur (376) show high backlogs. In contrast, correction-khata applications, which use an older software module, face only a 1.5% pending rate and about 10% rejection. "Correction khatas are moving smoothly because the older module is intact. All the confusion is in new khatas and e-khatas," the official said. Delays in issuing e-khata and new khata certificates are impacting property sales citywide. Buyers and builders cannot complete property transfers without the e-khata, which is mandatory for legal ownership and registration. Developers in wards with high pendency, such as Thanisandra and Jakkur, report that sales are stalling and builders are unable to receive full payments tied to property registrations.