Govt to soon decide on leasehold to freehold conversion in Noida
NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh government will soon take a decision on residents’ demands of converting leasehold properties into freehold following a directive from the Allahabad high court. In response to a Noida resident’s petition filed in July this year, the Allahabad high court directed the state government on September 9 to decide the matter within one month’s time.
This is the first time that the court has directed the state government to decide the issue in a month--residents have been demanding freehold status for their properties for several years.
Under the freehold system, an allottee has outright ownership of property, thereby making its transfer and sale easier. Under the leasehold system, the government has control over the sale or transfer of a property. Moreover, as per the leasehold system, the owner has the right to call the property his or hers for only 90 years, not forever.
During the hearing, the state counsel submitted before the court that the matter raised by the petitioner is under “active consideration with the state government... some reasonable time may be given to finalise the decision”.
“As prayed by the learned standing counsel a month’s time is given to the respondents... It is however made clear that further delay in the matter would not be accepted...” said the order passed by acting chief justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and justice Anil Kumar Ojha.
The UP government has sought details again from the Noida authority to make a decision before the next court hearing scheduled in October.
“We have provided the state government with all facts and figures about leasehold properties and how the freehold status will impact the development and maintenance of civic infrastructure,” said a Noida authority official, requesting anonymity. Chairman of the Noida authority Sanjiv Mittal and CEO Ritu Maheshwari were not available for comments despite repeated attempts.
In November 2018, during its board meeting, the Noida authority approved a proposal to convert all leasehold properties into freehold. Petitioner PS Jain, president of the confederation of Delhi-ncr residents’ welfare association (CONRWA), filed the plea in July this year to question why the state had not taken a decision three years after the approval. “We submitted before the court that when all leasehold properties have been converted to freehold in the country, then why not in Noida?” said Jain.