Property transfer a hurdle in 174 urbanised villages in the Capital

Delhi government officials said that as the villages have been declared as development areas after urbanisation, the Delhi Land Revenue Act, under which mutation is done, is no longer applicable.

Residents of 174 villages in the national capital -- declared urbanised in 2017 and 2019 for planned development in the city -- are struggling to transfer property rights owing to the change in the status of their village and the government agencies still figuring out a way to process such applications.

Residents of 135 villages urbanised decades ago have also complained about difficulties in getting mutation for properties that have come up on the extended lal dora. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

While earlier the Delhi government’s revenue department used to process applications for property mutations -- the process of transferring title or ownership of the land to family members in case of death of property owner or during sale or purchase of property -- residents claim it stopped since the villages were urbanised and transferred to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The land-owning agency has claimed that it has sent a proposal to the Delhi government for an alternate method for verification of land records but the latter said it is examining it.

Delhi government officials said that as the villages have been declared as development areas after urbanisation, the Delhi Land Revenue Act, under which mutation is done, is no longer applicable. “We can’t process mutation applications now as the areas have been transferred to the DDA,” said a Delhi government official.

A senior DDA official said, “We have suggested to the Delhi government an alternate method to verify the land records. The idea is that people should not suffer.”

When contacted, a senior official with the Delhi government’s revenue department said they are examining the proposal.

“No decision has been taken as yet,” said the official.

Jitendar Yadav (30), a resident of Jhuljhuli village near Najafgarh, said his family applied for mutation of their ancestral house and 14 acres of agricultural land in 2019, to be divided between his father and three siblings after the death of his grandfather. “For the past two years, we have been running from pillar to post to get the mutation done... Without the ownership, we can’t sell or do anything with our property,” he said.

Yadav’s village is one of the 95 villages where DDA’s land pooling policy, which is aimed at providing 17 lakh dwelling units in the city, will be implemented. The 95 urbanised villages were transferred to DDA in 2017, and in 2019, the Delhi government urbanised another 79 villages and brought it under DDA.

Bhupender Bazad, president of the Master Plan committee of Delhi Dehat Vikas Manch, a residents group, said that property ownership is essential for people to apply under the land pooling policy, adding that the DDA has already sent for vetting land records of those who have registered for it.

“In cases where the property owner has passed away, his/her children have applied for land pooling. However, their file will be rejected as the property is still in their parent’s name. The government must address the issue first,” said Bazad, who has taken up the matter with the DDA.

In addition to these, residents of 135 villages urbanised decades ago have also complained about difficulties in getting mutation for properties that have come up on the extended lal dora (the area permitted by the government for residential purposes in a village).