Chandigarh: In a move aimed at reducing paperwork and speeding up property-related services, the estate office of the Chandigarh administration has done away with the requirement of obtaining a separate No Dues Certificate (NDC) for transfer of lease rights and conversion of properties from leasehold to freehold tenure.Under a new standard operating procedure (SOP) issued last week, verification and clearance of govt dues will now be integrated into the processing of the main application itself, eliminating the need for applicants to first secure an NDC and then apply for the service.The estate office said applicants were earlier required to submit two separate applications for the same property, resulting in repeated scrutiny of records and additional delays.Officials said the department had already adopted a similar approach in leasehold-to-freehold conversion cases, where outstanding dues were checked and deposited during the processing of the conversion application rather than through a separate NDC process.As per the SOP, any outstanding govt dues or other applicable charges will be assessed while processing the application and communicated to the applicant through a discrepancy memo-cum-demand notice. The application will be approved only after all dues are cleared and other deficiencies, if any, are rectified.“No applicant shall be asked to separately obtain an NDC where dues verification has been integrated into the concerned service under this SOP,” the order states.The estate office has also directed branches, accountants and audit officials to ensure that all deficiencies, procedural issues and dues are conveyed through a single communication, reducing repeated correspondence. Online service checklists and workflows will be modified accordingly and the NDC requirement removed for the identified services.15 working days for disposalTo ensure timely service delivery, the estate office has fixed a 15-working-day timeline for disposal of complete applications.Where a discrepancy memo-cum-demand notice is issued, the period taken by the applicant to furnish compliance will not be counted. The clock will resume once complete compliance, including payment of dues and charges, is received.
