Maharashtra to bring law ensuring transparency in property deals, first in India
Maharashtra will soon introduce a land titling law to bring greater transparency to property transactions and align the system with global standards, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar
Maharashtra will soon introduce a land titling law to bring greater transparency to property transactions and align the system with global standards, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Thursday. He said the state would become the first in the country to enact such a law. Bawankule said a final decision on the proposed legislation will be taken during the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur in December. Officials said the proposal could not be tabled in the monsoon session because it needed further fine-tuning.
Read Full Story Under the proposed framework, every property holder will get a government-backed digital property card. Replacing the current practice of tracking all past transfer records, the card will carry complete details of the current owner, legal heirs, land revenue records and property particulars. "This government-guaranteed card will serve as a reliable, globally accepted document similar to debit and credit cards, usable both in India and abroad," the minister said. He also said the state would enforce a "measurement first, registration later" rule to ensure that no property transaction takes place without a prior land survey.
"Furthermore, flat owners in urban cooperative housing societies will be issued independent 'Vertical Property Cards'," he said. Officials said the proposed law is aimed at providing conclusive proof of property ownership, reducing disputes and fraud, and making property transactions more transparent and efficient. Legislators Sanjay Kelkar, Niranjan Davkhare, Kisan Kathore, Kumar Ailani, Jitendra Awhad, former MLC Vikrant Patil, and corporator and Thane District Co-operative Housing Federation chairman Sitaram Rane were present at the event. During the programme, Rane raised several demands, including simplifying the entry of names under 'other rights' on property cards and 7/12 extracts for housing societies, and stopping the practice of revenue officials calling land owners for what he described as unnecessary hearings.
Bawankule assured positive action on the demands, as the state moves towards a new system meant to make property ownership records clearer and transactions more reliable. Ends
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