The Hindu : 50 rural sub-registrars' offices to be closed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 22, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

50 rural sub-registrars' offices to be closed

By Radha Venkatesan

CHENNAI APRIL 21. The funds-starved Tamil Nadu Government has decided to silently shut down at least 50 sub-registrars' offices located in various villages.

In what the Registration department calls a ``merger", it has decided to wind up the offices which register a negligible number of property documents and yield little stamp duty revenue.

At least 50 out of the total 600 sub-registrar offices, some of which receive only four or five documents every month, would be merged with the nearest offices, according to senior officials in the department.

The Government, reeling under a fund crunch, hopes to save at least Rs. 4 crores annually by closing down these offices. Also, it need not spend on computerising these offices under an on-going programme.

In any case, the staff would not be retrenched and would only be redeployed to the sub-registrar offices facing severe staff shortage, say the officials.

As of now, there ``is a severe imbalance in deployment'' with offices flooded with property documents for registration suffering from inadequate strength, while those with no work have more staff.

And in some offices even ``vital property records'' are being allowed to wear out for lack of space and staff.

``In such conditions, merger and redeployment make both economic and administrative sense,'' says a key official.

Also, it would help to improve the overall functioning of the department which faces flak from the public for ``corruption and undue delays'' in registering property, he adds.

Apart from registering documents, the Sub-Registrar acts as the Marriage Officer and Registrar of Marriages under the Hindu Marriages Act and Special Marriages Act.

He is also the Assistant Registrar under the Chit Funds Act.

Protest likely

But, the Government anticipates trouble from employees' unions and those villages where the offices would be shut down.

Officials say some panchayats, which got wind of the proposed shutdown, have already begun to raise a hue and cry.

Even while announcing policy decisions in the Assembly, the Revenue Minister, N.Thalavai Sundram, merely said the staff would be redeployed.

He did not reveal the closure moves hidden behind the redeployment.

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Southern States