Led by councillor Tony Chaudhary, Ambala residents staged a protest over the difficulty in obtaining no dues certificates for property registration, outside the municipal corporation office on Monday.
The issue was also highlighted by several councillors at the MC House meeting last month, and mayor Shakti Rani Sharma heard around 250 such complaints during a Janata Darbar last week.
A no dues certificate states that there are no outstanding dues on the property concerned, and protects the buyer while also enabling municipal authorities to maintain updated records.
Chaudhary alleged that the MC is intentionally harassing locals in the name of these certificates by raising unnecessary objections. “There are several approved colonies in the MC area which are being shown as unapproved,” he alleged.
The main bone of contention is Section 7A of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act. Citing its breach, the applications are being denied.
“This is an undue objection as the colonies have been approved by the state government in 2014 and the department of town and country planning has no say in this. The breach is valid when a new colony is carved out,” said Chaudhary.
Aman Handa, deputy municipal commissioner, denied that there was any issue concerning certificates. “People can apply for it online and the certificate will be issued in 10 working days,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Aman Handa, deputy municipal commissioner, denied that there was any issue concerning certificates. “People can apply for it online and the certificate will be issued in 10 working days,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Commenting on the contentious section, he said: “There is no breach. When a colony is approved, all such acts are nullified. To rectify the problem, I’ve written to the higher authorities, which will soon issue a clarification to departments concerned.”