Recently, the registration department made amendments to re-structure the plot registration process to prevent any malpractices in the real estate sector. Despite the crackdown on open plot registration in unapproved layout, the registration department Telangana declared that the municipal authorities had written to it to stop registration without first presenting any list of illegal layouts.

The department of registration is dissatisfied with the wing of municipal administration for stalling their revenues even as the financial year is coming to a close. Although only six survey numbers were classified as illegal layouts in the municipality of Mancherial. Yet, Mancherial commissioner wrote to the Registration and Stamps Department Telangana to stop registrations in all unapproved layouts.

Regularization of Property Registration

The registration official said that before putting out the list of unapproved plots or layouts on their website, the municipal department should have done the groundwork and notify them about the prohibition of registrations under section 22-A of the Registration Act. Without any specific exercise, they were asked to stop registrations for illegal plots. As a result, the department is losing revenues. Also, some developers are coming up with copies of the layout, but there is no mechanism to verify the genuineness of the layouts being approved.

List of Unapproved Layouts in Hyderabad

According to officials, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) had established approximately 800 layouts in three districts include Rangareddy, Medak, and Mahboobnagar that came under HMDA limits a few years ago. Even in the report, survey numbers, layout, and promoter’s names were lacking in the descriptions of the layout, which were posted on the website of the authority.

RTI activist S Chandrasekhar said that besides, there was more to the actual number of unauthorized layouts than what was listed on the website. There was no adequate regulation to avoid layout development until developers were selling them to gullible people. Around Hyderabad, there could be more than 3,000 to 4,000 unsanctioned layouts. HMDA, which imposes many conditions such as a minimum road width of 40 ft layout approvals without any provision in the Act, is indirectly promoting unauthorized layouts.

Municipal secretary Arvind Kumar said every approved model would have details of the registration. Also, the state had exempted projects from RERA, which had been approved prior to January 2017, but the old models were not granted such exemption. However, with certain new laws, the possibility of risk to future buyers will be removed from fraudulent builders when buying unapproved open plots in Hyderabad.

By: Shailaja K