No registration sans NOC till decision on plea: Punjab to HC

IT WAS ARGUED THAT AUTHORITIES ARE ALLOWING SALE/TRANSFER OF PLOTS AND SITES OF UNAUTHORISED COLONIES WITHOUT NOC

CHANDIGARH : The Punjab government has given an undertaking in the high court that it will not register plots and properties in illegal colonies till a decision on issues raised in a public interest litigation are not dealt with.

The submissions were made in a PIL filed by a Ludhiana resident, Prem Prakash, who had alleged that authorities are permitting registration of sale deeds/transfer deeds of plots/ sites in unauthorised colonies by doing away with the requirement of obtaining a no objection certificate from housing and urban development department.

The petitioner submitted that it was mandatory as per the letters/instructions of January 2018 issued by department of revenue, rehabilitation and disaster management, Punjab. However, authorities in December 2019 withdrew the requirements prescribed in 2018 communication, thus permitting transfer of plots in unauthorised colonies raised by persons, who are neither the colonisers, the court was told.

This has rendered the entire process of acting against the unauthorised colonisers redundant, the court was told. He had demanded that the colonies, which were not regularised in 2018 and those coming up after that, should be demolished.

The court was informed that in 2010, the high court had upheld the mandatory condition of obtaining NOC before registration of documents as required by the provisions of Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975.

The state’s counsel said the December 2019 instructions were issued after obtaining an opinion from law department. However, in view of the issues raised by the petitioner, the matter would be re-examined, taking into account statutory provisions as well as the decision rendered by high court in 2010, the state’s counsel had told court adding that till that time registration of properties would take place as per 2018 instructions.

The high court bench of chief justice RS Jha and justice Arul Palli has disposed of the plea in view of assurance from the state’s counsel with a direction to authorities to consider and decide the issue raised.