Will bring in law on shared registration of properties in Chandigarh, assures Tewari

Reacting to the long-standing demand of several property owners, Manish Tewari said it was unfortunate that the BJP government had not watched the interests of the residents and did not defend the case properly in the Supreme Court

INDIA bloc candidate for Chandigarh for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Manish Tewari on Saturday assured city residents that he will bring in an ordinance/law on the issue of share-wise sale/registration of properties in Chandigarh, an issue “neglected by the BJP government”.

Manish Tewari pointed out there was always a procedure and a way out to seek redress in cases where one felt that the court orders and judgments needed to be reviewed. (HT Photo)

Reacting to the long-standing demand of several property owners, Tewari said it was unfortunate that the BJP government had not watched the interests of the residents and did not defend the case properly in the Supreme Court.

The former Union minister, who is also a senior practising lawyer, said the Chandigarh administration appeared to have shrugged off its responsibility to address the genuine issues related to the transfer of shares, which had not been disallowed by the Supreme Court.

Tewari pointed out there was always a procedure and a way out to seek redress in cases where one felt that the court orders and judgments needed to be reviewed.

“But unfortunately, the BJP establishment chose not to pursue the matter, leaving tens of thousands of residents of the city in the lurch,” he remarked.

On January 10, 2023, the Supreme Court had ruled that first 30 sectors of Chandigarh carried the heritage status of Le Corbusier zone and, therefore, conversion of residential houses into floor-wise apartments cannot be permitted in these sectors.

Following the apex court’s order, the UT administration had imposed a ban on registrations for share transfers outside the family and the approval of building plans for properties co-owned by strangers or non-family members. As a result, hundreds of share-wise property agreements had been declared null and void, evoking strong protests from residents.

Residents argue that properties deals worth around ₹500 crore are held up due to the ban, affecting several property holders who want to sell a part of their property for various reasons, including financial security in old age, medical treatment, children’s education and marriages, moving abroad or further investments.

‘Unemployment today highest in 45 years’

Tewari also interacted with residents during foot marches and public meetings in the city on Saturday, where he highlighted that unemployment in the country today was the highest in the past 45 years.

In Dadumajra, he was accompanied by Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky, AAP Chandigarh co-incharge Dr SS Ahluwalia and mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor, apart from several AAP and Congress workers.

He said under the BJP-led central government, during the last 10 years, the country had seen huge rise in unemployment with 70 crore people, half of the total population of the country, remaining unemployed.

Workers’ convention today

A workers’ convention planned by a section of Congress leaders from the party’s local unit is scheduled to be held at the Ramlila ground near Dhanas flats on Sunday.

Gurpreet Singh Gabi, vice-president of the Chandigarh unit, said they had invited party candidate Manish Tewari and also four-time MP Pawan Kumar Bansal to participate in the event. “We all want the best for the party and wish to start with the convention,” said Gabi. Till now, Bansal has not joined Tewari in his election campaign.