Pune: Nearly 15,000 leave and licence documents are pending across the state after repeated technical failures disrupted Aadhaar-based authentication earlier in Jan. The backlog surged after services were restored and a high volume of documents was submitted for registration, compounded by poll-related staff deployment for the civic elections, data from the state registration department showed. Thane (7,295), Pune (5,329) and Mumbai (1,579) accounted for the largest share of pending documents. Officials said technical snags during submission, followed by staff duties for elections, delayed clearance. The disruptions, caused by issues with the Directorate of Information Technology’s (DIT) Windows server, stalled online property registrations, leave and licence agreements and first-sale registrations from builders’ offices for nearly a week, triggering widespread complaints. Services resumed, but the backlog remains. Officials said the department plans to directly tie up with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) instead of going through the state IT department as part of a long-term solution. “We are considering this, and once finalised, Aadhaar authentication will be streamlined and citizens should not face such issues. We will be approaching the authority,” a senior registration official said on Friday. He added that pending documents are expected to be cleared within a week. Registration officials clarified that the authentication problem was not with UIDAI but stemmed from technical glitches at the DIT. The outage forced applicants to either wait or visit sub-registrar offices with two witnesses, undermining the Aadhaar-based online system introduced in 2019 to reduce footfall. Maharashtra has 519 registration offices, including 27 in Pune district, with urban centres such as Pune and Mumbai — where most transactions are digital — hit hardest. The state had enabled Aadhaar-based property registration by amending Section 32A of the Registration Act, 1908 in 2018 with implementation from March 2019. The reform was aimed at eliminating the requirement of two witnesses and reducing footfall at sub-registrar offices. The Aadhaar-linked system was later extended to online leave and licence registrations and first sale registrations directly from developers’ offices. But when Aadhaar authentication is not working, those seeking registration have no option but to come to the offices and complete the process with two witnesses. Citizens expressed frustration over repeated delays. “I had to cancel multiple appointments and still haven’t been able to register my rental agreement,” said Meera Chavan, a Pune resident. Ramesh Patil from Thane added, “Each time we try online, the system fails. There should be better communication and a helpline for such issues.” Sachin Shingavi, president of the Association of Service Providers, Maharashtra, said, “Repeated disruptions are inconveniencing citizens and service providers alike. We hope the department finds a permanent solution soon so that online registration works smoothly.” Maha clocks 73% target registration revenue ahead of FY-end With two months still left in the financial year, Maharashtra’s registration and stamps department has already achieved over 73% of its annual revenue target, collecting Rs46,643.93 crore so far in FY 2025-26 until Jan 21, data showed. Between April 2025 and Jan 21, 2026, a total of 35.6 lakh documents were registered across the state. Senior registration officials said transaction volumes remained consistent through most months of the FY. “Registrations have been steady, with revenue crossing Rs5,000 crore in July, Sept , Nov and Dec,” a senior official said. July and Dec emerged as the strongest months in the ongoing fiscal. July generated Rs5,155.82 crore from over 4.03 lakh documents, while Dec topped the chart with Rs5,595.35 crore from nearly 3.95 lakh registrations. Officials said the department is confident of further narrowing the gap with the annual target, as registration activity traditionally picks up in February and March, driven by year-end property transactions and financial planning. Urban centres such as Mumbai and Pune continue to account for a significant share of registrations and revenue, with high-value transactions in these cities helping achieve more registrations, officials said.”
