Hubballi-Dharwad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) decided to conduct a survey to identify plots allotted several years ago where the original owners or their legal heirs cannot currently be traced. It is aimed at preventing the creation of fake documents and the illegal sale or resale of such properties in Hubballi-Dharwad.
The issue has received attention because vacant plots allocated by HUDA decades ago have been identified by people who forged documents and falsely projected themselves as the legal heirs of the original owners. All of these properties were then registered in the names of the alleged fraudsters and sold to other buyers.
Several layouts were developed by HUDA around 20 to 30 years ago, and many of the plots were given to government employees, middle-class families and other beneficiaries. According to HUDA rules, a plot given by the authority cannot be transferred or sold for a specified period (including the initial 10-year restriction). Many beneficiaries had paid the entire amount due to HUDA and got their sites.
But over the years, some original allottees have died. In some cases, their legal heirs are unaware that a plot had been provided in their family member’s name. As a result, some of these properties have remained vacant for years, with vegetation and bushes on the sites.
According to the allegations, such abandoned plots became targets for organised networks of property fraud. Once plots whose owners or heirs were hard to trace, fake documents were allegedly made up to establish fraudulent ownership or inheritance claims. The property was registered in the name of one person and then sold or transferred to another buyer.
The alleged racket has also raised questions about the role of some HUDA employees. One of the employees was involved and action was taken against the employee. But there is no such thing as the fraud being done without outside help and support from outside the authority. Also, nobody knows if there are any other people involved in the alleged network.
The issue was brought to the public’s attention after a former serviceman raised questions about the fraud of HUDA plots. A subsequent investigation found that 150 to 200 or more sites may have been affected by similar irregularities. A HUDA representative was disciplined for the matter.
The recent decision to conduct a comprehensive survey is therefore seen as a step in the right direction to identify the status of the old HUDA-allotted plots. The survey could help to determine how many sites remain vacant, how many original allottees are dead, if any legal heirs exist and if any properties have already been transferred through questionable documentation.
There are also requirements that HUDA establish a transparent process to trace the legal heirs of deceased allottees. Where the real heirs are found, the authority should be able to provide the documentation and ownership procedures as needed, rather than leaving such properties susceptible to fraudulent claims.
Shakirsanadi, being former HUDA chairman, had allegedly expressed his concerns and even filed a complaint in relation to the issue. Now that Robert Daddapuri is chairman of HUDA, there is high expectation that the authority will take robust action against those involved in property fraud and strengthen verification procedures.
Robert Daddapuri said recent cases of fake documents and resale of plots belonging to owners without heirs had come to light. A complaint was also filed and action was being taken, but the previous tenure ended before action could be taken, he said. It may be helpful to have clear title or clean sale deeds for old layouts, he added.
The proposed survey can thus be both useful to protect genuine property owners and their heirs, and to prevent fraudulent networks from taking advantage of abandoned or poorly documented plots. A systematic verification of old HUDA records, ownership details and legal heirs could reduce property disputes and restore confidence among legitimate allottees and buyers.
