Conversion of SCFs into SCOs made easy

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 23

In a major relief for owners of shop-cum-flats (SCFs), the Estate Office has simplified the procedure for conversion into shop-cum-offices (SCOs) to run "low-intensity business".

Deputy Commissioner-cum-Estate Officer Ajit Balaji Joshi has directed the staff to allow conversion without the physical verification of the sites. At present, physical verification of the sites is done to look for building violations and misuse.

Sources said at a meeting with officers of the Estate Office today, the Deputy Commissioner made it clear that there was no need for physical verification of the sites. It would facilitate owners in the conversion and end red tape. Following this decision, violations and conversions will be dealt with separately.

The sources said the decision would not only help the Estate Office generate more revenue in the form of conversion fee but would also provide relief to owners whose conversion cases had been pending for long.

Owners of SCFs said internal changes had been carried out in a majority of the cases due to which the cases had been pending.

The Administration had come up with a policy for conversion of SCFs into SCOs in 2008. It had fixed a conversion fee. Several owners had come forward for conversion.

The High Court had upheld the policy after some owners of SCFs challenged the conversion fee. A majority of the SCFs are situated in Sectors 1 to 30 and their use has changed over a period of time.