BHUBANESWAR: State govt is planning to bring changes to the Odisha Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act of 2016, the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act of 2023, and other laws relating to development authorities to ease the process of registering sale deeds for plots and apartments.
“Currently, there are some bottlenecks in the registration of sale deeds for apartments and land in the state and the govt is deliberating on bringing necessary changes to the laws and existing regulations,” revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said on Tuesday.
“We held a meeting of stakeholders to deliberate on the issue since the current situation is affecting citizens who face hurdles in sale deed registration and also the govt, which is facing a huge revenue loss from stamp duty and registration,” Pujari added.
The minister said necessary amendments will be made to the rules and regulations so that the registration process becomes smoother. “The changes will be incorporated into the laws and implementation will be done very soon,” he added.
The sale deed registration for apartments and land hit a roadblock in 2022 after Orissa high court, while hearing a petition, asked the Inspector General of Revenue to ensure that all the rules are followed at the sub-registrar level.
The sale deed registration for apartments resumed this May after the enactment of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act of 2023, but the numbers remain low since the Act requires an occupancy certificate and an association of allottees’ certificate to proceed.
“Many apartments in the city lack the necessary occupancy certificate, for which registration and re-registration are not done. A few sub-registrars registered some deeds violating the rules, but they were dismissed from their jobs,” real estate expert Bimalendu Pradhan said.
Pradhan suggested the govt, while incorporating amendments in the rules and regulations, should also bring a regularisation scheme for the existing buildings. “Regularisation is the only way to remove all the bottlenecks in sale deed registration,” he added.
