The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday restrained the Punjab government from registration of plots/properties without an NOC from the department of housing and urban development in illegal colonies in the state.
The order was passed by the bench of Chief Justice RS Jha and Justice Arun Palli on a plea moved in March by a Ludhiana resident.
On March 22, the high court had granted the state time to seek instructions on the issue raised in the plea and deferred the hearing for April 4. However, the state’s counsel sought time again on Monday. In view of this, a restraint order has been passed, said petitioner’s lawyer Aayush Gupta. A detailed order is awaited.
The PIL was filed by Prem Prakash, who had alleged that the authorities are permitting registration of sale-deeds/transfer deeds of plots/sites in unauthorised colonies by doing away with the requirement of obtaining NOC from the department. It was mandatory as per the letters/instructions of January 2018 issued by the department of revenue, rehabilitation and disaster management, Punjab.
However, the authorities in December 2019 withdrew the requirements prescribed in the 2018 communication. By doing away with it, the authorities are permitting the transfer of plots in unauthorised colonies that have been raised by persons who are neither the colonisers nor the colonies have been established in accordance with the law, the court was told, adding that due to this the entire process of taking action against the unauthorised colonisers have become redundant.
{{/usCountry}}However, the authorities in December 2019 withdrew the requirements prescribed in the 2018 communication. By doing away with it, the authorities are permitting the transfer of plots in unauthorised colonies that have been raised by persons who are neither the colonisers nor the colonies have been established in accordance with the law, the court was told, adding that due to this the entire process of taking action against the unauthorised colonisers have become redundant.
{{/usCountry}}The plea argues that setting up and establishing unauthorised colonies is prohibited under the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995. The government had framed a scheme for regularising the unauthorised colonies, yet without taking any action under the said scheme to regularise the unauthorised colonies, the authorities are now permitting the sale and transfer of plots and sites of unauthorised colonies without an NOC, which was incorporated to prevent unauthorised registration of plots, it says.