Maharashtra govt suspends 44 IGR officials for illegal registrations in violation of RERA Act

In a major crackdown, the Maharashtra government has suspended 44 officials attached to 27 different sub-registrar offices in Pune who have been indicted for illegally registering about 10,561 documents despite a government order banning the wrongful registration process as a criminal act. According to a vigilance squad report, the officials have been found guilty of violating Real Estate Regulatory Authority Act (RERA) and the Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act.

During the government investigation, it has been revealed that a sub-registrar attached to registration office number 27 registered 1286 documents illegally. Also a senior clerk who has been functioning in the post of sub-registrar on a temporary basis illegally registered 810 documents. Also another senior grade clerk has been found to have illegally registered 804 documents. The categories of senior and junior clerks have been found to have carried out large scale illegal registration of properties in violation of the RERA act.

A junior clerk has been found to have illegally registered 652 documents while more than 20 officials have been found to have carried out illegal registrations ranging between 200 to 1200 documents. The vigilance report states that there exists a nexus between the sub registrars and clerks which carried out such illegal acts in violation of the laid down rules of registration by the state government.

The state government has instituted a vigilance squad which verified over 3 lakh property registrations during the past three years. The vigilance squad unearthed that as many as 10561 documents were registered in violation of the mandatory RERA Act. After going through the vigilance squad report, the state government instructed the Inspector General of Registration and Stamps to immediately suspend the violators. The inquiry officials paid special attention to details like whether RERA registration number, government sanction for building construction and the land parcel was divided into smaller units and sold to the buyer.

The Maharashtra government had directed the IGR to take action against the violators for registering documents in violation of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority Act (RERA) and the Maharashtra Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act.

State Inspector General of Registration (IGR) Shravan Hardikar said, "Forty Four officers and staffers have been suspended as per the directions of the government. Stricter action is being taken against those who violated the procedures. The action has been taken after the four member squad submitted its report to the state government ,” he said. Hardikar further said that the probe has been expanded to Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Nagur and Aurangabad. Fifteen sub registrars posted at Thane IGR office are now under scanner of the vigilance squad.

State Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said that he would meet the Inspector General of Registration (IGR) regarding 10, 561 bogus registrations carried out in Pune region. “ We will send a strong message to those involved through strict action as the officials of registrar offices have been found to have engaged in acts in violation of the law and laid down regulations ,” he said. Many of the complaints have been found to be related to registrar offices ( Haveli No 3 ). The action is a result of direct complaints to mantralaya regarding nexus between sub registrar office officials , clerks and builders who were allegedly engaged in fraudulent registrations.

Mantralaya Desk Officer Sunil Jadhav in his letter to IGR stated that a committee was set up to investigate the allegations related to registration of bogus documents in 27 sub registrar offices in the city. The government committee cum vigilance squad has found that the sub registrars have clearly violated the rules and face action under Maharashtra Civil Service (Discipline and Appeal) Act.

The secretary has specifically pointed out that the senior officials had conveniently ignored the irregularities done deliberately a number of times at the ground level. The senior office has conveniently ignored , showed lack of seriousness, absolute negligence and carelessness regarding the issue.