HYDERABAD: As the new Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department (CARD) process involves mandated documentation, including the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) and clearance from the GHMC’s Town Planning Department, many citizens continue to opt for notary-assisted documentation.
According to the officials of the Stamps and Registrations Department, notary documentation is not legally valid. “The process of buying and selling immovable properties, although slow now, has not stopped. Citizens and realtors have relied on notary documentation instead of registration for over three months, and many continue to rely on it. Ninety per cent of over 20 lakh people, who applied for LRS, are still waiting for clearance as the court has to adjudicate the issue. We anticipate that the number of registrations will gradually dwindle as only those who have LRS (a minority), for which lakhs of applications are still pending with the government, can get the registration done,” Telangana State Realtors Association president Praveen Naragoni said.
According to the data available, before the registration process was halted three months ago, 3,000-4,000 registrations of agricultural and non-agricultural properties used to take place every day, generating a revenue of `7 crore-`10 crore. On Tuesday, 2,771 properties were registered, generating `15.54 crore. “Numbers tell the truth.
The properties which were registered in the last two days are of high market value. Therefore, there is a difference in the revenue. It proves that not all who apply for LRS will get it, at least not immediately. The government should immediately scrap LRS for the public good,” Naragoni said.
In the last three months, over five lakh agreements with the assistance of notary have been signed in the State. “If LRS is insisted upon, people will continue to go in for notary documentation. For registration of a property, citizens must show LRS and a litigation-free clearance from the Town Planning Department, which not many have in Hyderabad,” Md Younus, a lawyer and agent from the district registrar’s office, Hyderabad, said. “Around 40-60 per cent of the buildings are at least 10 years old. Those who built with the previous norms cannot get clearances from the GHMC, unless they redesign the property as per the new norms,” he said.