The Committee, headed by Chandigarh Housing Board chairperson Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh with the UT Finance Secretary, Deputy Commissioner, MC Commissioner, Legal Rememberancer and Chandigarh Housing Board CEO as members, had submitted its recommendations a few days ago.

While recommending non-recognition of the General Power of Attorney (GPA) for the purpose of conversion of property to freehold, it has also called for single-window service for allottees seeking property conversion to help minimise delay and harassment.

It has also recommended that the function of conversion of property or subsequent execution of conveyance deed should vest only with one agency. Thus, the Estate Office and the Municipal Corporation should be the appropriate authorities for this task, since the ownership of land also vests with them, it has been suggested.

This, it says, is necessary since the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has no role in the actual execution of documentation for either conversion or execution of the conveyance deed to give them absolute title of freehold.

The panel suggests that in the case of a CHB allottee seeking conversion of property, he or she has to first seek completion of documents by CHB and then proceed to apply to the Estate Office or the MC, as required. The CHB will issue a "No-Dues Certificate" (NDC) and a "No-Objection Certificate" (NOC) to the allottee after verifying the clearance of dues, unauthorised construction or misuse or mortgage of property.

Making the conversion process time-bound, the panel has recommended that the CHB would have to issue the NDC or NOC within 15 days of receipt of application and the Estate Office or MC would have to allow the conversion to freehold within 15 days of the receipt of application. After conversion, the EO or MC would also stipulate that the allottee is required to execute the conveyance deed for the property within six months from the date of the issue of conversion. It has been recommended that all future land allotment by the Administration should be on freehold basis and in case land is allotted on leasehold, it should be deemed as leasehold land for purposes of conversion.

The recommendations have also stirred a debate and evoked a lively debate at a meeting of the Advisory Council yesterday.

With the panel not recognising GPA for conversion purposes and suggesting deletion of Rule 8 of Conversion Rules, 1996 -- relating to conversion in favour of GPAs upon payment of 33.33 per cent surcharge over and above the conversion charges paid by the regular lessee -- various political leaders have voiced their opposition.

Local MP Satya Pal Jain and former MP Pawan Kumar Bansal have both opposed the clause and sought recognition of the GPA, it being the most common mode for sale or purchase of property. Jain and Bansal have also sought reduction of stamp duty from 12.5 to 6 per cent. Jain has also demanded ignoring certain minor violations coming in the way of conversion and reduction of conversion rates, besides seeking the introduction of the Apartments Act in Chandigarh.

The two leaders claimed that the conversion scheme of 1996 permitted conversions keeping in view the changed concept of property ownership, but the scheme remained a non-starter due to objections by the Estate Office. They added that the concept of "unearned increase" had lost its validity and the leasehold rules of 1973 be amended.