With the real estate sector witnessing an uptick in sales ahead of Diwali, the state government has decided to extend daily working hours of the sub-registrar office in a few districts in Gujarat including Gandhinagar.
Surat city, which has witnessed a rise in the registration of property documents despite the ongoing pandemic and economic slowdown, also has its work hours extended by three-and-a-half hours. The sub-registrar’s offices at 15 places in the state will function till 9 pm instead of the usual time of 5.30 pm.
The offices which received around 500 documents on a daily basis now receive 650 to 700 documents per day after the Unlock. Of the four sub-registrar offices in Surat district, two are at Athwa and Katargam and the remaining two at Kamrej and Mangrol.
Offices at Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Rajkot, Anand, Palanpur, Gandhidham, Godhra and Kalol are among the 15 offices where the officers will work till 9 pm as they have a sizable backlog of registration documents to clear.
There are 10 sub-registrar offices in Surat city and eight are situated in rural areas. Due to the lockdown and corona pandemic, the registration dropped to 200 documents per day, but now the number has increased. The government expects a good number of registrations with auspicious muhurats during Diwali. In order to clear the backlog by November 12, the timings have been extended.
“The government has extended office timings to provide registration facilities to people so that they can avail of the documents during the festival. Besides, it will also generate revenue for the exchequer,” said Jayesh Bhataporiya, an official of the sub-registrar’s office in Surat.
Developer Manish Katargamwala said, “The Covid-19 infection had badly impacted crowded residential areas and joint families. People are now looking for isolated places that are far away from the city. We have received good inquiries for booking especially for affordable housing schemes.”
