Delhi HC directs DDA to clear pending property conversions
The Delhi High Court has directed DDA to process within two months the pending applications for conversion of property from leasehold to freehold, for which the authorities have already collected Rs 155.06 crore from the residents.
The High Court said that while the pending applications should be processed in terms of the prevalent policy, for future applications, a policy may be formulated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
“This court has repeatedly impressed upon the authorities concerned, including MoHUA and DDA, the importance of conversion of properties from leasehold to freehold as well as the enormous difficulties being faced by the residents of Delhi.
“This situation is further compounded in respect of those property owners who have already filed the applications and paid the then prevalent conversion charges, and are now awaiting a decision from the DDA,” a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Vikas Mahajan said in an order passed on September 28.
The court was hearing a set of petitions relating to the difficulties being faced by the residents of Delhi due to applications for conversion of property from leasehold to freehold not being processed by the DDA.
Initially, the secretary of MoHUA submitted that the ministry and DDA would require four months to finalise the policy for conversion of property from leasehold to freehold, and the least amount of time that would be required would be two months, the officer stated.
To this, the bench said it was unacceptable, as this would mean that the entire matter would now be adjourned to December 2026 or January 2027 for a full year; therefore, the conversion of properties from leasehold to freehold would continue to remain at a standstill in the whole city of Delhi.
The court said it has given sufficient opportunity to MoHUA and the DDA to look into this matter and formulate the policy.
“Various orders passed by this court from July 3, 2026 onwards would show that for at least six months the conversion policy was not looked into at all. Further, despite the orders that have been passed by this court from July 3 onwards, there is no progress whatsoever,” it said.
The bench also expressed dissatisfaction with an affidavit filed by MoHUA, which failed to provide any concrete timeline for finalising the policy.
The matter concerns the non-functioning of the DDA’s IDLI portal, which has remained unavailable since January 2, preventing property owners from submitting applications for conversion.
The court noted that 1,373 applications for conversion filed between 2020 and 2026 were pending, while the DDA has already collected Rs 155.06 crore in conversion charges. Of these applications, 308 had received approval, but conveyance deeds had not been executed.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on December 11 and directed the MoHUA secretary and DDA vice-chairman to join the proceedings on that day.
