Buying Land In Maharashtra May Soon Become Less Of A Headache
Maharashtra Land Titling Bill, 2019 seeks to make property titles clearer.
Buying a property may soon get hassle-free for people in Maharashtra as India’s richest state plans to bring in a new law to make property titles clearer.
The state cabinet on June 21 approved the draft of Maharashtra Land Titling Bill, 2019 that seeks to make the land titles conclusive and free of any encumbrances. It is based on the suggestions given by the Niti Aayog’s land titling committee which had recommended states to come out with a law that will help reduce litigations related to unclear land titles during property transactions.
When people buy property there is no system through which they can check the property title, a senior government official said requesting anonymity. It is always left to the purchaser to investigate the title of the property, which is a time-consuming process, he said.
As per the draft, a Land Titling Authority will be formed which will be responsible for creation and maintenance of a record of immovable properties, the official said. There will be a Land Titling Tribunal as well as an Appellate Tribunal to redress any disputes related to registered property titles, he said.
The draft bill has now been referred to the law and judiciary department to scrutinise it and make necessary changes, the official cited earlier said, adding that it will be then presented in the ongoing monsoon legislative assembly session or in the next session.
The state will take at least three years to update all its records after the bill is passed, the official said. After the records are updated, a special notification will be issued and the Act will be implemented in a particular area in the state on a pilot basis initially, he said.
On an average, a litigation related to land title takes a minimum five to 10 years to clear, according to Uday Wavikar, a lawyer who works on property-related cases. “Due to unclear land titles even transfer transactions used to take a lot of time. After this Act comes into effect, the process will be much transparent and we will see more property deals happening,” Wavikar said. “Banks also don’t give loans against any property if land titles are not clear. With this bill financial difficulty and liquidity problems of loans and clearances will smoothen.”
The Act, he said, will be like a green card and visa for property transactions. “But it is important that the bill is cleared expeditiously without further delays.”