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Land ownership: Sarwara demands permanent solution to NOC, freehold issues in Ambala Cantt
She said the mandatory NOC system was introduced in the 1990s, while property registrations in the ‘Excise Area’ of Ambala Cantt were halted around 2000
Independent leader Chitra Sarwara on Wednesday staged a protest at Sadar Bazar Chowk, demanding a permanent solution to the long-standing issue of ownership rights over land and properties in Ambala Cantt.
Sarwara, a former Congress leader who recently floated her own group, ‘Team Chitra’, said thousands of families had been struggling to freely use, transfer or derive economic benefit from their properties due to a complex web of no-objection certificate (NOC) requirements, freehold issues and suspended registrations.
Questioning why a permanent solution had not been found despite Ambala’s elected representatives having access to the state government and its decision-making corridors for years, she said her team would launch the ‘Azad Ambala Cantt’ (Liberate Ambala Cantt) campaign from August 15.
She said the mandatory NOC system was introduced in the 1990s, while property registrations in the ‘Excise Area’ of Ambala Cantt were halted around 2000.
“Prior to this, people could register their properties, get building plans approved, and even secure bank loans against their assets,” she said, questioning why the NOC system was made mandatory in Ambala and who was responsible for stopping the registrations.
Earlier, on August 6, energy minister and local MLA Anil Vij had held a meeting with party workers and disclosed that a proposal on the freehold policy had been introduced as an additional agenda item at a recent cabinet meeting without his consultation.
