The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has requested clarification from the UT administrations regarding the conversion of industrial and commercial leasehold properties to freehold. The MHA has sought information about the total number of properties, revenue aspects, financial considerations, and other related issues. The estate department has requested information from the relevant departments, said a UT official.
In February, the ministry had postponed the decision to authorize the conversion of leasehold commercial and industrial properties to freehold.
As per the action report submitted by the ministry with the Supreme Court in the Charanjeet Kaur v/s estate office case, the issue has been examined by the government of India, ministry of home affairs, and is at an advanced stage.
The SC had given three months to the MHA to decide on the issues in the previous hearing of the case.
In compliance with the SC order of July 18, 2022, a meeting was held on August 8, 2022, between the UT adviser and joint secretary (UT), MHA. The ministry had then requested a detailed proposal from the administration. The UT sent point-wise information to the MHA on August 20, 2022. This was followed by subsequent meetings on September 5 and 9, 2022.
In response to the MHA’s reply, the administration sent a detailed proposal for converting leasehold properties to freehold (commercial/industrial) on September 13, 2022.
