Salt Lake land transfer legal now

Gazette Notification Issued; Lease Right Of Residential Plots Can Be Sold For A Fee

Suman Chakraborti TNN 

Kolkata: The state government this week has issued a gazette notification, legalizing leasehold residential land transfer in Salt Lake. 
    State urban development secretary Debashis Sen said transfer of lease is now permissible for residential plots. “However, a system of checks and balances will be in place,” he said. 
    The notification, which has been issued by order of the governor, mentions that there are about 13,000 residential plots in Salt Lake and most of them have been leased out to people for residential purpose on a subsidized rate. The government, the notification says, had allowed transfer of residential plots of Kalyani township and also of nonresidential plots in Salt Lake in 2005. The lease of such plots can be transferred for a permission fee under certain terms and conditions. 
    Residential plots in Salt Lake had been leased out by the government for a tenure of 999 years. 
    The notification mentions that the leaseholders of residential plots or houses in Bidhannagar will be allowed to transfer their leasehold rights for an unexpired term by paying a transfer fee of Rs 5 lakh for each cottah. Those who would like to transfer the leasehold rights will have to inform to the state urban development department stating the intention for such transfer. The fees will, however, not be applicable for those transferring lease rights to father, mother or spouse. The provisions of the notification apply to the lessees or occupants of stalls, shops and the members of housing cooperative societies in Salt Lake. All existing and pending applications and cases will also come under the purview of the notification. 
    The notification also mentions that in case of a transfer of lease right, all the terms and conditions of the original lease deed executed between the government and the lessee of the residential plots or building shall also apply to the person who is buying the leasehold right. And that will apply to all subsequent transfers as well. It has also been decided that the same will be applicable for plots that have already been sold or transferred. According to civic sources, around 35% of plots in Salt Lake have been illegally “sold” or transferred earlier. 
    According to officials, the process of allowing leaseholders to transfer their lease rights will have several steps. Before the urban development department checks and verifies a lease transfer application and gives permission, the matter will also be checked by the Bidhannagar Municipality and also by the police. 
    Earlier this month, the state cabinet, chaired by the chief minister, passed the proposal to give legal stamp to leasehold residential land transfer in Salt Lake. By taking this major decision, the government will be able to earn a good amount of revenue. 
    The government expects to raise more than Rs 1,000 crore through the process of regularizing the sale of unsold plots and legalizing the sale that took place earlier.

Govt mulls legal stamp on Salt Lake plot sale

Suman Chakraborti TNN 

Sale of leasehold residential property in Salt Lake is going to be legalized soon. 

    The Mamata Banerjee government plans to allow transfer of lease in the township for a fee. Most of the land in Salt Lake belongs to the urban development department and the government will fix the fee. 

    The state Cabinet meeting is likely to discuss the proposal on Tuesday. Salt Lake residents had been waiting for this for a long time. 

    If things go according to plan, plot-holders in Salt Lake can legally monetize their property by paying the government stamp duty, registration fees or some other levy. 

    “Leasehold land won’t turn into freehold land. We are mulling allowing transfer of lease but only with the permission of the government,” urban development minister Firhad Hakim said. 

    The government will continue to enjoy ownership rights and also earn revenue that it had missed out on earlier when property changed hands in Salt Lake under cover. 

    The Bidhannagar Municipality could never stop the under hand deals unless the original lessee walked up to register a formal complaint. 

    The proposal was doing the rounds since the days of the Left Front government but was allowed only for commercial properties. A case is pending in the court over the change of a commercial property into a residential highrise in HB block.Govt to fix lease fee per cottah 

    Once the proposal to legalise the sale of residential plots in Salt Lake gets through in the state Cabinet on Tuesday, the government will evaluate the plots in the township and fix a price for the transfer of lease per cottah. 

    Illegal sale of plots in Salt Lake caught the notice of the Mamata Banerjee government soon after the Trinamool Congress came to power in May, 2011. The government has been trying to find a way out since then. 

    Plots in Salt Lake were leased for a 999-year tenure in the 1970s to enable middleclass people to settle in the township on the condition that the leaseholders cannot transfer their plots. 

    According to the present rules, residential plots cannot be sold or transferred as the plot holders are actually lease holders and not owners. But later, some genuine problems cropped up. 

    The family increased at least by two-fold within a span of 50 years and the lessee could not do justice to all his/her children, because leasehold property can’t be partitioned and distributed among the heirs. 

    This prompted some to sell out the property illegally for a huge amount of money. According to estimates, out of the 12,000 plots in the township, almost 35% of the plots have been transferred or sold illegally. Plots measuring a cottah, which were originally leased out for about Rs 5,000, have been sold illegally for lakhs, say sources. Many such transfers are in the process with the help of touts and many houses have been illegally sold more than once.