The registration department is slowly limping back to business in Coimbatore zone, thanks to the unlocking of lockdown.Land registrations had come to a grinding halt in the zone, which comprises Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tirupur and Erode districts, when sub-registrar and district registrar offices had to be closed from March 24 because of the lockdown. The offices were, however, allowed to reopen from April 20.
During the 11 working days in April, the registration department could earn just Rs 1 crore from the zone, compared to Rs 131.72 crore in January, Rs 174.47 crore in February and Rs 149.13 crore in March (until 24).
The land registration was dull in May too, when the department could earn just Rs 50 crore. However, in the first eight days of June, the department has clocked revenues of Rs 40 crore from the zone.
Jagadeesan, deputy inspector general of registration, Coimbatore Zone, said, “While only 187 documents were registered in April (from 20 to 30), 13,032 documents were registered in May.”
A Umapathi, district spokesperson for Tamil Nadu Document Writers Association, said they hadn’t worked in the district in the first four days of May as they were concerned about the spread of Covid-19. “We resumed work on May 5 as many people wished to register property.” He said they have asked the people to maintain social distancing and wear face masks compulsorily.
Jagadeesan said land registrations have started picking up. “We have registered 8,830 land documents from June 1 to 8, earning revenues of Rs 40 crore from the zone.”
As per the data available with the registration department, 30,325 documents were registered in the zone in January, 36,877 in February and 32,974 documents in March. The average revenue generated in the zone before the lockdown was Rs 150 crore a month.
According to the official, Periyanaickenpalayam, Annur, Sulur and Singanallur sub-registration offices usually record more number of land registrations in the district. While Ganapathy, Gandhipuram, Peelamedu and other sub-registration offices in the city record only less number of land registrations, revenue generated would be high, thanks to the high value of land.
