Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun/Rishikesh, 28 Jan: Huge irregularities of very serious nature have been revealed at the Sub–Registrar Office in Rishikesh during a surprise inspection carried out by District Magistrate Savin Bansal today. DM Bansal has taken a very serious note of the irregularities and has ordered stringent action in this regard.
During the surprise inspection, the DM observed widespread mismanagement and grave procedural violations, including illegal registration of deeds by a clerk in the absence of the Sub–Registrar. Expressing strong displeasure, the DM questioned how stamp duty was being approved when the official concerned had no knowledge of property valuation under Section 47-A. Bansal asked who had authorised the clerk to exercise powers vested exclusively with the Sub–Registrar, making it clear that criminal proceedings would follow.
The inspection revealed that several registrations were being carried out in industrial areas by illegally subdividing plots into smaller parcels and registering them at residential rates, pointing towards the possibility of stamp duty evasion could be running into crores of rupees. The DM directed that a detailed report be submitted at the earliest in this regard. It was further found that original documents pending for several months had not been returned to applicants, despite the stipulated maximum time limit of three days for their return. Instead, hundreds of original documents were found lying unattended in almirahs, gathering dust. The prolonged non-return of original deeds and inordinate delay in providing copies of registered documents must have caused severe inconvenience to thousands of members of the public. Urgent copies of registration documents, which are required to be issued within 24 hours, were found pending for months and even years.
During the inspection, the presence of a ghost employee was detected in the office, with neither an appointment letter nor an entry in the attendance register. Taking serious note of this, the DM sought complete records of all the personnel posted in the office. Computers, pending original documents and suspected forged deeds were seized and handed over to the tehsil administration. Several complainants present at the office narrated their grievances to the administration, following which the SDM Rishikesh was directed to take necessary action.
The District Magistrate also found that several deed documents had been pending for more than six months. When information regarding khasra numbers and lists related to industrial areas was sought, the staff present failed to provide any satisfactory response. No records could be produced to show that copies of deeds had been supplied to the buyers in a timely manner or that any information in this regard had been sent to the district headquarters. The operation of an outdated database system was also detected, for which the staff concerned could not offer any logical explanation.
It further came to light that registrations were being conducted in the absence of the Sub–Registrar, who was stated to be attending a meeting in Dehradun, while registration work continued solely under the supervision of a registration clerk, in clear violation of established rules. Old deed documents were also seized by the DM and the staff attendance register was also called for examination. Irregularities were also observed in the registration process, including unnecessary delays in issuing copies of registered documents and the absence of a separate arrangement for the collection of registration fees, with all payments being taken at a single counter, reflecting serious procedural lapses.
The inspection also revealed that despite the office being scheduled to open at 9:30 am, the first registration of the day was carried out only at 11:15 am. When questioned about the delay, the staff on duty failed to provide any satisfactory explanation. Terming all the irregularities as extremely serious, the DM directed that explanations be sought from the officials concerned, a detailed examination of records be conducted and strict action be initiated against those found guilty. He categorically stated that negligence, irregularities or disregard of rules in matters connected with public interest would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
During the inspection, SDM Rishikesh Yogesh Meher, Tehsildar Chaman Singh and other officials were also present.
