Delhi LG urges one city, one district norm for property registration

The exercise will be limited to property registrations and mutation and won’t impact the distribution of received funds.

Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena has directed that the national capital be considered a single, unified revenue district for all property registrations, a move that officials said was aimed at weeding out corruption and easing access for buyers across the city.

Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena ) ordered the exercise on Wednesday after a review meeting with the state vigilance department,but the plan will come into effect only after a notification is issued, formalising the shift to a single property district. (PTI)

The exercise, officials added, will be limited to property registrations and mutation and won’t impact the distribution of received funds, the administration of the national capital or the boundaries of the city’s 11 revenue districts.

“This will allow any person to get their property registered from any sub-registrar office in the Capital rather than going to specific offices,” said an official of the LG’s office on Thursday.

“It is expected to effectively check malpractices,” added the official.

Spokespersons of the Aam Aadmi Party did not comment on the development despite requests.

He also ordered that sub-registrar’s offices be brought under CCTV surveillance; scrutiny by the trade and taxes department be made faceless (moved online); and that all stipends, pension and scholarships be paid only through direct benefit transfers (DBT) online.

The national capital currently has 22 sub-registrar offices.

The move to unify property districtswill “protect people from touts who are active in sub-registrar’s offices”, said an official of the LG office aware of the matter.

Andhra Pradesh implemented a similar change in 2015, said the LG office statement.

The statement also stressed on the importance of minimising human interface at administration offices to choke illegal practices. “The issuance of NOCs by the revenue department regarding status of a particular land will also be made online,” it said.

Officials, and experts, largely agreed that the move is well-intentioned, but may not effectively eliminate touts from a system that has largely remained unchanged for decades, with “agents” — who charge residents to help them cut through red tape — deeply embedded in the process.

A revenue department official said, “Property registration is a lengthy process, and touts help people apply for registry, in return for commissions,” he said.

Saxena also ordered district officials across the Capital to conduct regular unannounced checks and raids at offices of the sub-registrars, as well as the transport, trade and taxes, and excise departments.

All sub-registrar offices in the city will also be brought under constant CCTV surveillance, the LG ordered.

“He directed officials to ensure that the CCTV camera feed is brought directly to the central command centre,” officials aware of the matter said.