The Arvind Kejriwal Government has allowed sale and purchase of ‘booked’ properties that were declared “unauthorised” by civic bodies and the DDA for violating building norms. Secretary (Revenue) /Inspector General of Registration Ashwini Kumar has issued an order to this effect. “Order that the registration of transactions relating to immovable property per se should not debar any action to enforce provisions of any law, including prevailing building bylaws/structural safety norms and that timely action against unauthorised construction/unsafe buildings should be taken by the law enforcement agencies as per law,” the order said.
Most of the booked properties are located in either in approved colonies or DDA colonies. At least 8 lakh-10 lakh properties were declared ‘unauthorised’ construction, in the past few years on several grounds — including illegal constructions, violation of building bylaws or dilapidated buildings posing threat to human life. A similar proposal was mooted during President’s Rule last year but the same was turned down by the lieutenant Governor and Chief Secretary of Delhi.
The sale and purchase of such properties was banned in Delhi post lalita Park tragedy in trans-Yamuna in which 71 people died and many sustained grievous injuries in 2010. With the new decision, sale and purchase of ‘illegal’ properties has been allowed in Delhi. Strangely, the Kejriwal Government has reversed the decision of previous Congress Government banning registration of those properties that were structurally unsafe or had violated the building bylaws. The big question is who would be responsible if lalita Park-type tragedy occurs in future.
It may be noted that DM Spolia, who was then holding the charge of Divisional Commissioner, had issued banning the registration of transactions in respect of all structures that are unsupported with sanctioned building plans or where such plans are shown to have been sanctioned by the competent authority reveal major structural deviations from the sanctioned plans. “The vendor and the vendee should also be required to furnish a certificate of structural safety,” it said.
Under the present rules, any unauthorised construction is ‘booked’ and the information is sent to the sub-registrar in the Revenue Department so that the sale or rent deeds of the property cannot be registered. Such ‘illegal’ properties are not allowed to be sold or rented. It is also learnt that despite the ban, sale and purchase of such properties was being done through General Power of Attorney (GPA).
There is a general perception in the Government that if they allowed the sale and purchase of such properties, it will give a huge relief to the people. The decision will not only help check corruption in sub-registrar offices across the city, but also help generate revenue from registration of such properties. The decision will also help fix responsibility in case of any tragedy, as in most of the cases records are not available with the department.