Delhi govt lifts power of attorney ban

Sheila Dikshit
Sheila Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Delhi Government has decided to lift the ban on transaction of properties through general power of attorney (GPA) which is expected to provide relief to lakhs of residents living in group housing societies and others.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said government decided to reverse the restriction imposed by it last year in transaction of properties through GPA considering difficulties faced by people of the city.

“We have decided to allow transaction of properties through GPA,” Dikshit said.

Following a Supreme Court order on property transactions, Delhi government in April last year had put a stop on property transaction through GPA.

The Supreme Court had on October 12, 2011 ruled that sale transactions carried in the name of GPA will have no legal sanctity and immovable property can be sold or transferred only through registered deeds.

The Delhi High Court on May 5 had quashed the Delhi government order banning property sale through GPA.

Following the Delhi Government order, volume of property transaction in the city had come down drastically as selling of leasehold properties through GPA transfers was a convenient way of such transactions.

Transaction through GPA was common for properties not having a clear title.
Officials in Revenue department had said government’s revenue collection had also come down following the ban on property transactions through GPA.

The lifting of the ban on GPA-based transactions will help sale and purchase of propertiesin unauthorized colonies where there is no clear title.

The city government had regularized 895 unauthorized colonies in September last year and the decision to lift transaction through GPA will allow property sell and purchase in those settlements, said officials. -PTI