GURUGRAM: Around 85% of complaints filed by residents regarding rectification in their property IDs have been returned for lack of documents and information, data sourced from municipal corporations have shown.
Across the state, there are 74,227 complaints that are yet to be resolved despite being filed months ago. Of these, the NCR districts of Gurgaon and Faridabad account for 30%.
At almost 90%, the number of applications returned to property owners is even higher in these two districts.
Ashok Garg, who assumed office as Gurgaon municipal commissioner on Tuesday, expressed concern at the sheer number of applications rejected by civic bodies.
“The high number of objections being returned to property owners raises significant concern. This should not have happened. I will examine the process and initiate improvements wherever required,” he told TOI.
And it’s not just Garg. Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini had also expressed concern over the high volume of unresolved complaints in a closed-door meeting with officials, sources said.
Property IDs — which are a must for executing registries, sale deeds, paying taxes or even issuing water bills — were made mandatory by Haryana govt to bring transparency in the system. But in the run-up to the recent assembly elections, it came under severe criticism of opposition parties, who claimed that the documents were riddled with errors and mismatches and caused much inconvenience to people.
Most of the complaints were returned to owners over lack of clarification and documentary evidence. For example, an application that sought to fix property dimensions in govt records was sent back to the owner, seeking documents that proved the claim. The applicant is required to submit the documents online.
Officials said there were many who were not even aware that their complaints had been sent back, causing significant delays.
“It’s ironic that this online system was actually designed for effective delivery of services, but is now posing a major challenge. Not all residents are tech-savvy. When complaints are sent back to residents, many of them do not follow up on them. This adds to the pendency list,” a senior official said.
The 74,000-odd complaints weren’t only filed online. Some of these application forms were filled in Samadhan Shivir camps in the presence of govt officials, raising questions on their efficacy.
Among the aggrieved residents is James Lobo of Sushant Lok-3. Lobo applied for a property ID a year and a half ago, but is yet to get one.
“All of a sudden, I discovered that MCG records suggest that I have dues worth Rs 12,000. Moreover, details of the property seller are incorrect. I am concerned about paying Rs 12,000 against wrongly listed sellers, particularly for a newly constructed property. Plus, there is discrepancy in the property size as well. Records show it’s 350 sq yards, but the actual measurement is 300 sq yards,” he added.
“What’s more of a concern is that another resident of my tower has successfully obtained a property ID despite pending dues. So, how are complaints being addressed? Despite numerous online submissions and visits to the MCG office, my complaints are being sent back without any resolution,” Lobo said.
Sachin Kalra, a resident of Sector 52, attended several camps to register a complaint after repeated attempts online. For more than a year, Chaitali Mandhotra of Ardee City hasn’t been able to fix the measurements of her property in the ID. She attended six camps organised by MCG in her area.
The state govt had in Jan 2022 engaged a private agency to update records of properties online. But the initiative has been marred by a flurry of errors.
