The government of Odisha has agreed to provide freehold status to land and houses allotted in residential projects finished by the Development Authority (DAs) and Odisha State Housing Board (OSHB) in various towns, which will be a huge relief to lakhs of property owners throughout the state. More than a lakh allottees who want to sell their properties will benefit from this.
By granting freehold status to the plots of land and homes allocated in the residential projects finished by the Development Authority and the OSHB, the government has made a momentous move.
More than a lakh households in the residential projects have received land and homes on a leasehold basis from the DAs and OSHB. Every time they want to sell these properties, the owners of the allotted land and homes must acquire NOCs from the relevant authorities. There are around 99 projects spread across Ac.2797.492 of land in the entire State, and because there is no law requiring the transfer of these assets to freehold status, the allottees face significant difficulties in using these properties for their intended purposes. They have repeatedly demanded that these properties be given freehold status.
Although the law has provisions that allow leasehold land allocated by the GA&PG Department to be converted to freehold status upon payment of specified conversion costs, there is no equivalent provision for land leased out by DAs and OSHB.
The government has made the following crucial choices in order to eliminate the legal ambiguities and satisfy the desires of the allottees:
- Freehold status shall be provided to the land and homes allocated in the residential projects developed by the DAs and OSHB.
- Conversion fees totaling $1107.81 billion. in favour of DAs and OSHB, be waived.
- In order to permit the conversion of leasehold properties to freehold status, DAs and OSHB must first collect the required conversion fees from the allottees.
- To guarantee that the aforementioned decisions are carried out, the R&DM Department must make the necessary changes to the existing legislation.
- Freehold land must be made available to DAs and OSHB for the construction of all upcoming residential projects.
More than one lakh households who were given leasehold properties by DAs and OSHB will benefit from all of the government’s citizen-focused decisions. Furthermore, according to sources within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, all households planning to purchase properties in the residential projects that will be developed by DAs and OSHB in the future will have the privilege of owning and transacting such properties in a hassle-free manner without having to obtain permission from anyone.
Prasanta Patnaik 
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