*INAUGURATES STATE OF ART 3 SUB REGISTRAR OFFICES
*AMENDMENTS IN THE REVENUE ACTS AIMED AT TRANSPARENCY AND TO
CURB THE CORRUPTION
*AMBITIOUS GPS PROJECT TO RECORD EVERY DETAIL OF EACH URBAN
PROPERTY ON WEB
LUDHIANA – Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Punjab, today said that SAD-BJP government has brought revolutionary changes in the Revenue Acts to bring transparency in the property transactions, to curb harassment of general public besides with the singular aim of curbing corruption.
Speaking to Media after inaugurating state-of-the-art, fully digitalized and computerized Sub Registrar Offices at Transport Nagar, Gill Road and Humbran, Mr. Badal said that three years ago he initiated the task of revenue reforms to bring transparency in its working. He said that Punjab government has recently passed a legislation to ensure that nobody could be forced by Revenue Authorities to register property above collector rates. He said that he was moving with a mission to curb discretion of revenue authorities in property transactions as discretion leads to corruption. He said that a separate legislation has also been issued doing away the discretion of revenue authorities in fixing registration fee on the property component. According to the new instructions now collector rate of ground floor of property would be 10% of collector rate of land and every additional floor of the property would attract additional 5%. He said that this transparent and people friendly formula has done away with the discretion of revenue authorities thereby putting a check on corruption.
Speaking about the ambitious GPS program launched by the Revenue Department in association with Union Government, Mr. Badal said that now every city was being put on Global Positioning System map through INSAT-4 sattellite and GPS would have complete detail of each property in the urban areas besides showing detailed building plan of each specific building. He said that through this system different urban areas would be cleared demarcated domestic and commercial areas thereby bringing uniformity in the classification of property. He said that he was concerned about touts playing fiddle in the property transactions and has ordered close circuit camera surveillance of each Sub Registrar Office to collect documentary evidence of such element to put them behind the bars.
Elaborating the governance reforms initiated by the Government, Mr. Badal said that legislative reforms in archaic revenue acts improving citizen services delivery by IT initiatives were set to make the administration transparent. Illustrating the revenue act amendments Mr. Badal said that to expedite the revenue disputes now no appeal was allowed against interim order and power of remand in appeal cases has been restricted to first appellate authority only. He said that after amendment now Divisional Commissioners and Financial Commissioner Revenue cannot remand the case to lower revenue authority and they would have to decide the case. Similarly, amendments in the tenancy act would enable ejectment of tenant after stipulated period.
Earlier Mr. Badal also inaugurated a state-of-the-art sports stadium constructed in sector 38-39 at the cost of Rs 5 crore. He also opened Partap Chowk Flyover constructed at the cost of Rs 23 crore to the public. Prominent amongst those who were present on the occasion, Mr. Hira Singh Gabria, Jails Minister, Mr. Parminder Singh Dhindsa Public Works Department Minister and Mr. Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, former MP.
