High plot transfer fee worries industrialists

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 15

Allowing transfer of industrial plots purchased on the general power of attorney (GPA) or special power of attorney (SPA) with increased rates has shocked industrialists, who have been demanding reasonable rates for long.

Sources said the Administration had recently allowed the transfer by charging one-third unearned profit of the current collector rates of the plot from the applicants.

The Estate Office had recently started the transfer on the basis of a clarification issued by the Finance Department. With the decision, GPA holders will have to pay in crores in case they want to transfer property. While various industrial bodies had been demanding to fix reasonable rates for the transfer, the decision has come as a huge shock to them. Under the revised rates, the transfer of a one-kanal plot will cost around Rs 1.10 crore.

MPS Chawla, president of the Chandigarh Industrial Association, said industrialists should not be penalised for the “fault” of the Administration. The Administration failed to fix transfer charges for several years.

Now asking them to charge on the basis of the current collector rates was wrong.

Yudhbir Kaura, president of Laghu Udoya Bharti, said the decision was unreasonable and could not be justified at all. Navin Miglani, president of the Chamber of Chandigarh Industries, said it was an anti-industry decision. The association would take up the issue with the Administration.

Former Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal also opposed the move and said the concept of unearned profit should be abolished as it had no relevance in property matters. The Administration must fix only reasonable charges for the transfer of industrial plots. It had failed to formulate a transfer policy in 35 years for industrial plots allotted on a leasehold basis in the Industrial Area, Phase I and II, between 1973 and 1982. The plots were allotted on a condition that these would be transferable after 15 years.

With the Administration failing to frame a transfer policy, a large number of owners had transferred their plots on general power of attorney (GPA). A large number of plots have changed hands several times on the GPA. This has left the owners in the lurch as they had been facing litigation because they don’t have ownership rights.