Hyderabad: Property owners in Telangana have not got reprieve from the fraudulent practices in the Stamps and Registration department as the government has not taken any corrective measures.
The situation in AP is better than TS but there are many loopholes to be plugged there too. In cases where fraudsters impersonate the original owners and transfer the property and in cases of double registrations where the same property is sold to two different buyers, though criminal cases are filed by sub-registrars, they have no right to cancel the deeds.
As per the rules, both the buyer and seller together have to cancel the deed in the registration office. Due to this rule, the victim landowners fail to get any relief and has to fight civil cases for years for no fault of theirs.
TS sub-registrars are now demanding that the government give them powers to cancel deeds made by impersonators after an enquiry based on the victim’s appeal.
Telangana Sub-Registrars’ Sangham president K. Vijay Bhaskar said, “Impersonators tamper with the ID proofs and appear before the sub-registrar and transfer the property. Sub-registrars are helpless. We have no access to UIDAI Aadhar database and now talks are on regarding the same.
“The sub-registrar or the registrar should be empowered to register unilateral cancellation of sale deeds or conveyance on sale, if it is proven that there is irregularity in registration of documents like impersonation or double registration after conducting the inquiry exercising powers under Section 83 of the Registration Act, besides instituting criminal cases against the culprits.”
AP has plugged some of the loopholes and is avoiding most fraudulent registrations. Vijayawada district registrar G. Srinivasa Rao said, “There are some issues about giving powers to sub-registrars for unilateral cancellation as there is not enough mechanism to probe alleged fraudulent transactions. In Tamil Nadu, they have framed a rule wherein the district registrar conducts an enquiry and he orders a cancellation if irregularities are found. The issue is with the Madras High Court now and if it is cleared in favour of the rule, we will also try to implement it here.”
He added that the AP government had taken enough measures wherein sub-registrars had got access to UIDAI data and Aadhar card was compulsory as ID proof for registration.
“When the seller and buyer produces Aadhar proof, the sub-registrar checks it online and only takes the name that’s in the database. Regarding agriculture lands, we are given access to the Webland software of Revenue wherein registrations are done only if the Revenue software shows the name of the seller. So, fraud in agriculture land registration has come down drastically. For urban properties, we are going to get access to the property assessment data of the Municipal administration department. Only if the property assessment shows the name, the plots or flats or buildings will be registered; it will come into vogue soon.”
However, registrations due to legal disputes like hereditary properties after the death of the owner, power of attorney of NRIs, unregistered wills and partition deed issues have to be sorted out in AP too.
TS faces another issue of non-availability of comprehensive database on government lands to the sub-registrars or to the public. This is also leading to illegal registration of government land worth crores.
TS Sub-registrars’ Association general secretary G. Sthita Prajna said, “The database of the government, Wakf Board, ceiling lands is incomplete. Only Endowments’ land database is available totally. All government lands have to be digitised and made available. And Revenue officials and government departments should be made aware of the fact that fraudulent transfer of government land can be cancelled.”
Mr Srinivasa Rao said that in AP, all government lands had been digitised and there was no such issue with them.
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