The Hindu : Front Page : Land purchase counselling centre shut down

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Wednesday, Oct 04, 2006
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Land purchase counselling centre shut down

Santosh Patnaik

`Trend-setting initiative' given a quiet burial

VISAKHAPATNAM : Once dubbed a trend-setting initiative by the district administration, it has now been given a quiet burial under the pretext of `shortage of hands.'

The land purchase counselling centre set up at the eSeva centre on Beach Road in the city last year, the first of its kind in the State, had become an instant hit from the beginning. On payment of just Rs. 100 along with an application and photostat copies of title deeds, link documents and copies of approvals, the officials at the centre used to furnish information on the status of the property in question within 15 days. To fix responsibility, issuance of acknowledgement on receipt of application was made mandatory by the then district Collector Praveen Prakash.

Pilot project

Sources told The Hindu that due to shortage of manpower and drafting of staff towards election duties, the unit was withdrawn from the eSeva centre. However, at the time of launching it as a pilot project, the officials had said the facility would be replicated in other eSeva centres depending on feedback. Now eSeva centre officials are advising visitors seeking information on land deals to contact urban land ceiling officials.

Officials withdrawn

Without any announcement, a special grade deputy Collector and two senior assistants from the Revenue Department posted in the counselling centre were withdrawn. After a field visit and verification of records with agencies like the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) and Mandal Revenue Office, the eSeva centre used to tell the prospective buyer whether he could go ahead with the deal or the problems associated with it.

Multiple registration

With a boom in real estate prices, the incidence of multiple registrations of properties is on the rise. "I came across a case where a single property at Madhurawada was registered 10 times," a senior official of HDFC said.

"The counselling centre was very useful for us to avoid cheating.

The authorities should reconsider their decision and revive the facility," V. Muralikrishna, an employee with a multinational company, said.

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