Inspector General of Registration (IGR) Shravan Hardikar. (ANI) Following the revelation that over 10,000 property documents were registered illegally by sub-registrar offices in Pune district, it has come to light that as many as 300 clerks including junior and senior ones are at the helm at sub-registrar offices across Maharashtra. The Inspector General of Registration’s office has confirmed that clerical staff and not senior officials were running the show at more than 50% of sub-registrar offices in the state.
In Pune, of the 27 sub-registrar offices, 23 are being looked after by clerical grade staff while only four of them are being handled by sub-registrars, who, as per the rule, are supposed to head the sub-registrar offices.
In all, there are 519 registrar offices in Maharashtra and more than 300 are currently being looked after by clerks, who are the lowest grade staff in the government hierarchy, the IGR’s office said. The reason: for years, promotions have not taken place in the sub-registrar offices in the state. “We are taking steps to initiate the process of promotions which has been held up for years,” IGR Shravan Hardikar told this newspaper on Saturday. “The clerical staff has been given necessary training to handle the job. We have no other option as we are facing manpower crunch in the form of sub-registrars,” he added.
While promotions have affected the working of the sub-registrar offices across Maharashtra, in Pune, the illegality which has surfaced in property registrations has affected the work of sub-registrar offices. As many as 11 sub-registrars in Pune district have been suspended by the state government after the Inspector General of Registration’s office found that 10,561 documents had been illegally registered by them. The 11 sub-registrars are among 44 officials against whom inquiry is pending.
“We have initiated departmental inquiry against these 44 officials. They are being charge-sheeted. If they accept being guilty, we will take action against them. If they refuse to accept guilty, then the departmental inquiry against them will continue,” said Hardikar.
The 44 officials including 11 sub-registrars from 27 sub-registrar office in Pune have come under the scanner for registering properties in violation of the Real Estate Regulatory Act and the Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation of Consolidation of Holdings Act.
Interestingly, the 44 staffers included clerical grade staff as well. IGR officials said at least two senior clerks are involved in illegally registering as many as 1,600 properties.
Hardikar said the state government had launched a probe by a vigilance squad nearly a year ago. “This was done before I took charge as the IGR. The squad verified lakhs of documents and has found that over 10,000 were registered in violation of the two Acts,” he said. Initially, four sub-registrars were suspended and now seven more have been suspended.
Refusing to put a figure to the multi-crore scam, Hardikar said, “This is not as simple as it looks. It is a highly complex issue. Not necessary that the entire deal is a fraudulent one. The possibility of misunderstanding and confusion regarding the Act and its rules among officials and even the general public cannot be ruled. This issue was also discussed in the state legislature. After that we had come up with a government resolution simplifying the rule so that people and officials can understand them before finalising any deal.”
Hardikar said they will be probing from all angles. “We will be probing all the stakeholders in this case, be it sub-registrars, other officials and agents, advocates,” he said.
The IGR said he has been regularly holding discussions with Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat. “We regularly hold discussions on the issue and efforts are underway to make the functioning of the sub-registrar’s office simple, transparent and corruption-free,” he said.
Lamenting that citizens do not carry out a thorough verification of the properties to be bought, Hardikar said, “People look for easy way out. They do not want to carry out a proper check, neither do they want to study the rules. As result, many of them land up with illegal properties.”
Hardikar said they have now decided to come up with FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) which will help the citizens make the right purchase and not end up with an illegal property. “We have also sensitised the officials of the Collectorate in this case. The civic bodies should also play a pro-active role which will help in setting up only legal buildings and apartments. For instance, the gunthewari scheme launched by the government is a better way to get properties regularised. Such schemes should be promoted,” he said.
Officials said the illegality regarding property documents is all-pervasive, meaning it is spread state-wide. “We are verifying documents registered across the state,” he said.
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