Property Mutation (Dakhil-Kharij) in Tripura through e-Jami

What is property mutation in Tripura?

Property mutation in Tripura is the change of the khatian, the record of rights maintained by the Revenue Department, Government of Tripura, from the old owner's name to the new owner's name. Across eastern India this is also called dakhil-kharij, literally, entering one name and striking out another.

Tripura maintains its land records in e-Jami, the state's computerised land records system at jami.tripura.gov.in, which the Revenue Department lists as a service on its own site, revenue.tripura.gov.in. "Jami" is the local word for land. The Revenue Department also runs computerised land registration through its Sub-Registries, so registration and the land record sit in the same departmental family, but they remain two separate steps.

That separation is the point most Tripura buyers miss. When your deed is registered at the Sub-Registry, a legal transfer has been recorded. The khatian does not change by itself. Until a mutation application is decided at the revenue office, the land records still show the seller as the holder, and the state deals with whoever the khatian names.

Who can and cannot apply for mutation in Tripura?

You can apply if:

• You have bought land in Tripura under a deed registered at a Sub-Registry and the khatian still shows the seller.
• You have received the land by gift or settlement deed, duly registered.
• You are a legal heir of a deceased recorded owner and want the holding entered in the heirs' names.
• You are a co-sharer after a partition, whether the partition was by registered deed or by a court decree.
• You have acquired the land through a court decree or an auction sale confirmed by the competent authority.

You cannot apply if:

• Your document is unregistered. An agreement for sale, a notarised paper or a possession receipt does not support a mutation entry.
• Land revenue is in arrears on the holding. Clear the dues and produce the receipt first, this holds up more Tripura mutation files than any legal problem does.
• The plot is under a pending civil suit, injunction or a boundary dispute recorded in the office.
• The land is khas, government or reserved land not lawfully transferable to a private person.
• The transfer breaches statutory restrictions on transfer of tribal land in Tripura, where transfers of land held by Scheduled Tribe holders to non-tribals are restricted. This is a real bar, and it cannot be worked around by drafting.

What documents are required?

Before you go to the office, write down the mouza name, JL number, khatian number and plot (dag) number. Tripura's records are organised on those four identifiers, and a file without them cannot be located.

How to apply for property mutation in Tripura

1. Register the transfer deed first at the Sub-Registry with jurisdiction over the land. The Revenue Department runs computerised registration through its Sub-Registries, and mutation is filed on the strength of the registered deed.
2. Clear the land revenue dues on the holding and collect the payment receipt. Arrears are the commonest reason a Tripura mutation file is held.
3. Take the file to the Tehsil / revenue circle office covering the mouza where the land lies. Ask for the mutation application form.
4. Fill the application with the mouza, JL number, khatian number, plot number, area, the transferor's and transferee's details, and the registration particulars of the deed.
5. Attach the documents; registered deed, the transferor's khatian, the revenue receipt, your identity proof and photograph, and submit at the counter.
6. Pay the government fee shown at the counter and take the printed receipt. Do not leave without it; the receipt is your only proof that an application exists.
7. Cooperate with the field verification. The tehsil staff verify the parent khatian, check whether the plot is under dispute, and where necessary put out a notice so that anyone objecting can come forward.
8. Collect the updated khatian once the mutation is sanctioned. Check the entry against your deed line by line; area, plot number and the spelling of your name, before you leave.

What can I do on e-Jami and on the e-District portal?

e-Jami, at jami.tripura.gov.in, is the state's computerised land records system, linked from the Revenue Department's own site. It is where the record of rights for Tripura lives, and where the department's registration and land record functions come together.

e-District Tripura, at edistrict.tripura.gov.in, is a separate citizen service portal. It does not handle mutation. What it does offer in the land space is:

• Land Valuation Certificate — a certified valuation of a plot, commonly needed for loans and legal purposes
• Certificate of Land Use: certifying how a plot is classified in use

Both are useful documents and neither is a substitute for mutation. The e-District portal notifies applicants of the decision by SMS on the services it handles, and publishes a service fee list and district-level contacts. For e-District technical problems the Directorate of Information Technology lists 0381-235 5751.

How do I check the status of a mutation application?

• At the Tehsil / revenue circle office where you filed, quoting the receipt number and your mouza and plot details.
• At the Sub-Divisional Magistrate's office, if the tehsil has not moved the file within a reasonable time.
• At the District Magistrate and Collector's office, as the next escalation.
• By phone to the Revenue Department, on 0381-241 8059, the number it publishes on revenue.tripura.gov.in, or by email to jsrevenue201@gmail.com.
• CM Helpline 1905, the Tripura state grievance line, where a file has sat without explanation.

Why do mutation applications get rejected in Tripura?

• Land revenue arrears on the holding, unpaid at the time of filing.
• Area or plot number mismatch between the registered deed and the parent khatian.
• Unregistered transfer document produced as the basis of the claim.
• Objection filed by a co-sharer during the notice period, which converts a routine mutation into a contested one.
• Restricted transfer of tribal land to a non-tribal purchaser, which the revenue office is bound to refuse.
• Missing heirship proof in an inheritance case, where the applicants cannot show who all the heirs are.
• Pending litigation over the same plot, which freezes the entry until the court decides.

What does it cost, and what should you refuse to pay?

Mutation in Tripura is charged at the government fee quoted at the revenue office counter, and the Revenue Department does not advertise a paid fast track. Because the department does not publish a single flat figure on its website, the practical protection is procedural rather than numerical: ask what the fee is before you pay, pay at the counter, and take the printed receipt.

Agents who offer a mutation "arranged" for a few thousand rupees are charging you for a queue position that does not exist. The tehsil still has to verify the parent khatian, still has to allow the notice period, and still has to record the entry. Go to the tehsil office yourself with the seller's registered deed and your revenue receipt, that is the whole of what the process actually needs.

Grievance and helpline route

• Tehsil / revenue circle office for the mouza; where the file sits
• Sub-Divisional Magistrate of the sub-division; first escalation
• District Magistrate and Collector; second escalation
• Revenue Department, Government of Tripura to 0381-241 8059, jsrevenue201@gmail.com, revenue.tripura.gov.in
• e-District support, Directorate of Information Technology to 0381-235 5751, for problems with Land Valuation or Land Use certificate applications
• CM Helpline 1905, the state grievance line

Carry your counter receipt and the mouza, khatian and plot numbers to any of these. No revenue office in Tripura can trace a file without them.