Chandigarh: Now, conversion issue comes under apex court scanner

Dushyant Singh Pundir

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Chandigarh, May 7

The issue of conversion of leasehold industrial and commercial properties to freehold has come under the scanner of the Supreme Court.

The Additional Solicitor-General has sought time from the court to seek instructions from the Chandigarh Administration and/or the Ministry of Home Affairs on the following points:

n The conversion of leasehold industrial and commercial properties into freehold properties on the basis of the allotment price or such other reasonable yardstick not related to the current market value.

n The question of conversion charges of the residential properties at the rate of 20 per cent of the current market value needs to be revised to be citizen friendly.

n Whether the definition of ‘Enterprise’ mentioned under Section 2(e) of The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, should be permitted to be applied for the activities in the industrial plots or the service industry can be permitted to be used over the plots in the industrial area.

n To examine the possibility of framing clusters of industrial activity and the commercial activity in the industrial area Phase I and Phase II.

The matter has been listed for July 18.

“If The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 is permitted in the industrial area, it will benefit many people. And the show-cause notice issued by the Chandigarh Administration which caused tremendous harassment to the industrial plot owners will be withdrawn,” said Charanjit Kaur’s counsel Vikas Jain.

The matter came up for hearing before the Division Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice V Ramasubramanian in the case of Estate Office versus Charanjit Kaur.

Charanjit had sought conversion of a plot in Sector 46-D, Chandigarh, from leasehold to freehold on the acceptance of the requisite conversion fee. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, in an order dated May 24, 2017, had directed the Estate Office to convert the said plot from leasehold to freehold on the acceptance of the requisite conversion fee, to pay an amount of Rs 10,000 as compensation for mental agony and physical harassment and also to pay Rs 5,000 as costs of litigation. Against the order, the Estate Office filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.