As part of the measures to protect waterbodies from being encroached, the Tamil Nadu government has made it mandatory for registrants to give an undertaking that the land presented for transaction is not a waterbody, channel or catchment.
The decision came after the Madras High Court directed the State government to protect waterbodies. In an advisory to the registering authorities, the Registration Department has said a written undertaking should be obtained from both the buyer and the seller of a land that it does not come under the category of a waterbody and that they will be liable for legal action if the declaration is found to be false.
The Registration Department had earlier instructed the sub-registrars to fix the value of waterbodies, waterways, catchments and associated government poromboke land as ‘zero’ to prevent their registration. Directing the authorities to coordinate with Revenue Department officials to get the survey numbers earmarked for waterbodies, Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu even warned of disciplinary action against senior officials in case of any violation.
The Madras High Court’s order, passed last September, was based on a petition filed by Arappor Iyakkam, a Chennai-based anti-corruption organisation, which stated that tanks and their catchments and outflow channels were encroached upon at Chitlapakkam and Selaiyur, resulting not only in groundwater depletion but also in flooding.
Patta claims
However, sources in the Registration Department said the process of identifying land earmarked as waterbodies, catchments, waterways, government poromboke land and government land and fixing their value as ‘zero’ was still on. In some districts, ‘zero’ value was being reversed and the guideline value was fixed for such pieces of land based on petitions from members of the public who had conditional pattas for free house sites or pattas in support of their possession of land that could not be registered.
“Thousands of houses, buildings and offices have been constructed on land earmarked as waterbodies or waterways or government poromboke land across Tamil Nadu. We can fix ‘zero’ value to such properties and prevent further transaction or registration thereof. The process of demolition to restore the waterbodies or vest the land back with the government has to be initiated by Revenue Department officials,” a senior official in the Registration Department said.
Unapproved plots
The official said many cases of sub-registrars registering unapproved plots were being referred to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption for investigation. Registration of unapproved plots is a violation of Section 22-A of the Registration Act, 1908, which empowers the State to declare that the registration of any document or a class of documents is opposed to public policy.
“In such cases of violation, the explanation of the sub-registrar concerned should be sought on the basis of an enquiry and disciplinary action initiated if any deviation from the guidelines is made out. Instead, the Department is referring the report of the District Registrar (Audit) on the registration of unapproved plots to the DVAC without conducting any enquiry or giving any opportunity to the registering authority to explain. Any abuse of official position or suspected corruption should first be established by the Department through an enquiry,” the official said.
