The Gujarat assembly on Monday cleared a bill amending several provisions of the 'Disturbed Areas Act' to prevent the illegal sale and transfer of properties in certain specified pockets. Violators now face jail between 3 and 5 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh or one-tenth of property value, whichever is higher.
Under this legislation, officially called The Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Act, 1991, purchase or sale of properties in an area notified as 'disturbed' cannot be done without the collector's approval. The state had first brought the law in the mid-80s following communal riots.
The ruling BJP said the amendments were the result of several representations made before the state in which it had been alleged that properties were being bought and sold unauthorisedly or through transfer using powers of attorney in 'disturbed' neighbourhoods. The bill was tabled by in-charge revenue minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.
The Congress questioned the motive of the government and said that it was an attempt to prevent people from buying properties in certain areas. It also wondered why such an Act is needed when the government claims that Gujarat is a peaceful state.
The amendments bring in stringent provisions for sale of property, including the fact that the word 'transfer' would mean sale, gift, exchange, lease or possession of a property by way of power of attorney.
Several BJP legislators, including Chudasama, defended the amendments saying they were meant to protect the residents who are being pressured by anti-social elements to part with their assets at cheap rates. In some cases, criminals are forcefully taking them over, they said.
The Act now allows the collector to check if a deal in such an area will lead to "polarisation, disturb the demographic equilibrium or lead to improper clustering of persons of a community". It also says that a party aggrieved with the collector's decision can approach the state government.
The amendments call for the formation of a "Monitoring and Advisory Committee" to keep an eye on such areas and require the collector to seek the advice of the same when needed.
"Further, the bill also proposes to form a special investigation team (SIT) to assist the state government in forming opinions before declaring any area to be a disturbed one. It will also assist the Monitoring and Advisory Committee in gathering necessary information," said Chudasama.
The Congress called it an attack on people's right to buy and sell property, but the BJP defended it, saying it was for the protection of people's property and not at a particular community.
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