Vol. II: Shaping Information and Communication ... - IMA,ZLW & IfU

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at each Sub-Registrar’s Office [SRO]. This data was entered into the systems by the trained
staff in 6 to 8 weeks. The task of entering EC data, which is more complex in size and
structure - about 1.2 million records of approx 2 KB size each - was out-sourced to five
agencies in March 1998.
Fourth, the installation of CARD application software in 212 locations was considered a
major challenge. Seven versions of the software had to be developed, tested, and deployed
within a period of 4 months to achieve the desired functionality across the counter.
The CARD project has been funded entirely by the AP government. The 1996 pilot project to
computerize two Sub-Registrar Offices cost about US$ 55,000. The original outlay for the full
CARD project was about US$ 3 million; and this figure is likely to grow to US$ 4.3 million.
This cost includes hardware, software, training, site preparation, data entry, air-conditioners,
furniture, stationery & storage media, as well as other miscellaneous expenses.
Impact
Six months following the launch of the CARD project, about 80% of all land registration
transactions in AP were carried out electronically. Some transactions are still being handled
manually at a few locations due to hardware and software related problems.
The time required for services such as valuation of property, sale of stamp paper, and
provision of certified copies of registered documents now takes barely 10 minutes instead of a
some days as under the earlier system. Certificates are now issued to citizens in a span of 5
minutes, using a system that searches through more than 15 years of records from over 50
offices. Land registration can be completed in a few hours, whereas earlier it took 7-15 days.
After factoring out the natural upward trend in nominal revenues, the CARD system has
generated a modest increase in revenue from an annual growth rate of 3.8% in 95-96 to 19.8
% in 99-00.
Still another benefit of the CARD program is that it has prompted the public to pressurize
government for ushering in similar changes in other areas of governance.