After a period of sluggishness, a large number of people are now visiting the offices for registration and approval of property-related documents. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s ban on registration without a NOC and the expiry of the earlier exemption granted by the Punjab Government have created a hurdle, and the offices have not fully resumed their operations.
Registration work has been virtually stalled for the past two weeks due to the Shraddha period. Due to religious beliefs, people avoid buying, selling, or undertaking new property transactions during the Shraddha period. Now, with the onset of Navratri, people are experiencing increased enthusiasm. Since yesterday, the Sub-Registrar Jalandhar-1 and Jalandhar-2 offices have seen a rush of people seeking registration. Today, 95 people made online appointments at the Sub-Registrar-1 office, of which 93 documents were approved. At the Sub-Registrar-2 office, 55 documents were approved. During the Shraddha period, these figures had dropped to 60 and 40, respectively. This clearly indicates that the religious festivals have reinvigorated the pace of work.
The Honorable Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered that obtaining a NOC from the relevant departments is mandatory before registering a property. This rule aims to ensure that the property is dispute-free and compliant with government regulations. However, the time-consuming process is causing difficulties for both buyers and sellers. Technical glitches in the NOCs often occur, stalling transactions. The Punjab government had granted a temporary exemption for registering old transactions until August 31st, but now no new orders have been issued. As a result, work at sub-registrar offices remains partially affected.
Sub-Registrar-2 Jagtar Singh and Sub-Registrar-1 Damanveer Singh said that the Navratras have brought a burst of activity to the offices. However, many registrations are still stalled due to the High Court order and the requirement of NOCs. They explained that NOCs are not required for properties falling within the red line of the old city limits and for properties with registry documents dating back to 1995. They said that if the government issues new guidelines regarding NOCs, the process will become much easier.
