Chandigarh Administration to take up share-wise property registration issue with MHA today

Senior officials of the UT Administration will take up the long-pending issue of registration of share-wise properties in Chandigarh with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) during a meeting to be held at New Delhi on Monday. The development has rekindled the hopes of the issue getting resolved soon.

Share-wise registration of properties in the UT has been suspended for nearly three years. The issue has repeatedly been raised in Parliament by MP Manish Tewari. Discussions in the UT-MHA meeting are expected to cover not just share-wise registration but also the floor area ratio and other industry-related matters.

According to officials, the Administration was keen on resolving the matter, but relief can be offered to stakeholders only after receiving formal approval from the MHA. Meanwhile, the Estate Office has taken independent legal opinion on the issue.

The ban on share-wise registration followed a January 10, 2023, Supreme Court order, directing the Administration not to approve building plans that convert three-storey houses into three separate flats, and to avoid registering MoUs enabling such conversions until the Heritage Committee re-examines norms for residential sectors.

However, MP Manish Tewari has repeatedly stressed that the apex court order does not explicitly prohibit share-wise sale of property. He said the Administration had misinterpreted the directive, resulting in unnecessary hardship for residents.

The Property Dealers Association in the city too has been demanding restoration of the registration process.

The freeze significantly impacted the UT’s property market. Many buyers and sellers with urgent financial needs — from marriages, shifting abroad and business investments to housing upgrades — are unable to execute deals. The UT is also facing a revenue loss, as nearly 80-100 share-wise transactions used to take place every month, generating an annual stamp duty earning of Rs 40 crore. With registrations suspended, despite the original SC directions applying only to Sectors 1 to 30, the losses continue to accumulate.

The halt has also led to property rates rising in city sectors, particularly in Sector 1 to 30, and increased diversion of investment towards Panchkula and Mohali.