Haryana to Undo Urban Areas Act’s 2017 Amendment

Haryana government is contemplating to undo a 2017 amendment in Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act it had steered in the state assembly to water down section 7-A of the Act. The stipulations in section 7-A pertained to the grant of a no-objection certificate (NoC) by the town and country planning department (TCPD) before registration of land in notified urban areas. The registration of properties without NoCs in notified urban area land under section 7-A of the Act has led to mushrooming of unauthorised settlements. The requirement of NoC stating that land transfer does not contravene any provisions of the Act was to prevent ill-planned and haphazard construction in urban areas. The move to undo the amendment comes in the wake of reports of large-scale violations in registration of sale deeds of properties without obtaining the NoCs in notified urban areas in Gurugram district. Subsequently, the government had last week halted the registration of transfer deeds across the state for a limited period citing alleged corrupt practices. The revenue department, which flagged the section 7-A violations, has written to the TCPD to make appropriate changes in the law.