Chandigarh doubles daily appointment slots at estate office for submission of applications

To bring down the wait time for applicants, the UT estate office on Wednesday decided to double the daily appointment slots -- from 24 to 48-- for submission of applications, starting Thursday

To bring down the wait time for applicants, the UT estate office on Wednesday decided to double the daily appointment slots -- from 24 to 48-- for submission of applications, starting Thursday. It was also decided to serve a cup of hot masala tea to the applicants till January 31 next year, in view of the biting cold conditions.

It was decided to increase appointment slots from 24 to 48, for which two additional counters with computer and data entry operator would be provided. (HT File)

Officiating deputy commissioner-cum-estate officer Yashpal Garg said that after interacting with people and officials concerned, it was found that many applicants were getting appointment slots for application submissions after 10 to 15 days, delaying their work.

After detailed deliberations, it was decided to increase appointment slots from 24 to 48, for which two additional counters with computer and data entry operator would be provided.

Data correction facility to be provided the same day

He also directed that facility for correction in data should be provided in the estate office on the same day itself. A computer with a data entry operator would be provided to carry out correction in the application, he said. At present, the application is returned and the applicant has to take a fresh appointment for submission of corrected application. Hence, applicants had to wait for another 10 to 15 days for availability of slots for a fresh appointment.

Meet officials on all working days

Garg also extended the public meeting days. Now, people can meet the designated officials on all working days from 12 noon to 1pm instead of only on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

He clarified that public meeting would be allowed up to the level of branch in-charge only. However, if required, in some cases, the assistant estate officer (AEO) or branch in-charge may send the visitor to the dealing assistant. He warned of strict action against the dealing assistant in case of directly entertaining visitors. Presently, visitors are allowed to approach all levels such as AEO, branch in-charges and dealing assistants.

On appointment for registration of deeds, he directed officials to increase the slots on each working day to 60 with a provision of two additional discretionary slots with the additional deputy commissioner for urgent matters. Presently, there are 50 slots on each working day with a provision of five additional discretionary slots with the sub-registrar for urgent matters.

Garg said that these changes were on experimental basis and a final decision with suitable modifications would be taken based on the results.