Punjab: New guidelines hit registration of sale deeds in colonies
Rajmeet Singh
Chandigarh, July 7
The registration of sale deeds in the approved colonies in the state has been severely affected following recent guidelines issued by the Revenue Department.
Plot holders lament that clauses like licence number issued by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), details of coloniser, issuing date of the coloniser licence and requirement of the NOC from the regulating authority concerned have created confusion at the office of the sub-registrars.
Aimed at checking unauthorised colonies, the guidelines are leading to harassment of property owners in approved colonies.
A senior official in the Revenue Department said a clear distinction between approved and illegal colonies had been made in the instructions issued by the government. Accordingly, the provision of the NOC from the enforcing authority — the Local Government or the Housing Department — had been introduced.
Explaining the lack of clarity in the instructions, Gurvinder Singh Lamba, general secretary, Punjab Colonisers’ and Property Dealers’ Association, said projects approved prior to 1995 or before the RERA came into existence did not have provision of the NOC or RERA number.
“In many cases, the layout plans have been approved by the enforcement agency concerned or the area falls within the jurisdiction of the municipal limits. The Revenue Department needs to segregate the cases. Everyone can’t be clubbed in broader provisions. There are many sub-classifications,” he said.
The Revenue Department has already directed the Local Government and the Housing Department to publish the list of licensed projects with area details and approved layout plans, specifying where the no-objection certificates (NOCs) are not required for registration of sale deeds. But the software being used to register sale deeds does not support the instructions.
It has been specified that the NOC is not required if the first sale deed of the property is prior to August 9, 1995, and also in case of subsequent sale deed of the plot, provided the property has not been sub-divided further. But property owners are not able to get their property registered upon subsequent sale or purchase.
