VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday sought a detailed response from the state government on a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the alleged privatisation of Sub-Registrar offices through Registration Seva Kendras (RSKs) established under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
The PIL, filed by social activist Pamula Balaram, challenged Government Order (GO) 396, which provides for setting up one Registration Service Kendra in every district headquarters and declaring them as Sub-Registrar offices.
The petitioner argued that the government lacked the legal authority to privatise Sub-Registrar functions and sought the GO to be declared illegal.
Hearing the matter, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Challa Gunaranjan observed that RSKs could perform only ministerial functions and could not discharge statutory or official duties reserved for government officials.
The bench directed the state government to file a detailed counter explaining the exact services to be provided by the RSKs and clearly distinguishing them from the statutory functions that are to be performed by government officers.
The matter was adjourned for three weeks.
During arguments, the petitioner’s counsel contended that entrusting registration work to private entities could lead to irregularities and adversely affect property rights.
The State government has, however, maintained that the RSKs did not amount to privatisation and were intended only to improve the delivery of registration services to the public.