Dharani Portal: Tough action against fraud

Buyers and sellers must give declaration claiming responsibility for transactions through the portal

Hyderabad: Taking a tough stand against those indulging in fraudulent property transactions through Dharani portal, the State government is contemplating stern action through civil and criminal proceedings against such unscrupulous persons. The government is making it mandatory for the seller and the buyer of the property to give a declaration claiming responsibility and agreeing for such action against them in case they resort to any fraudulent property transaction.

Fraudulent property transactions especially in case of lands have been a common phenomenon in the State. The State government brought several reforms to plug the loopholes in land transactions after Telangana State formation, yet, the fraudsters continued to exploit the innocent buyers. In many cases, they evaded action and went scot-free using the legal loopholes to their advantage. While some encroached upon lands belonging to others and sold them as plots, others resorted to registration of the same land to multiple buyers. There were also some cases where the buyers purchased the lands despite being aware of the land encroachment or other fraudulent transactions.

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After studying this, the revenue officials came up with the idea of the declaration form and made it mandatory for completing any property transaction. Hereafter, the property transactions cannot be completed without both the seller and the buyer of the property declaring that they are liable for civil and criminal action in case they provided false information or resorted to any fraud with regard to the said land. Thus, they can be arrested immediately in case of resorting to such crimes.

Accordingly, the property seller should give a declaration stating that he is the absolute owner and possessor of the land and did not sell it to anyone else earlier. Similarly, the buyers should give a declaration that they verified and satisfied with encumbrance particulars of the land, its possession and extent on the ground. They should also confirm that they have verified other records and were satisfied with the seller’s ownership of the land.

Further, both the seller and the buyer should declare that there was no court order or injunction restraining transfer of the said land and the proposed land transfer was not in contravention of the laws – the Telangana Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act of 1973; the Telangana Scheduled Area Land Transfer Regulation of 1970; and the Telangana Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act of 1977. He or she should declare that the said land is not forest, endowment, wakf or government land as well as the land transfer was not prohibited under Section 22A of Registration Act of 1908.

“The idea is to make citizens more responsible for their actions. Considering the declaration being made mandatory, the buyers too will be cautious and responsible before carrying out any such property transactions,” a revenue official told Telangana Today.

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