Sub-registrar offices open amid poor attendance

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai:21.04.2020

Sub-registrar offices were on Monday reopened across the state amid poor staff attendance, boycott by document writers and some offices being shifted out of containment zones.

The government has brought the registration department under the category of essential services. On Monday, offices wore a deserted look as people did not visit them due to the lockdown.

Official sources said nearly 600 property registrations were recorded on the first day with less than 10% was registered in Chennai. Madurai and Vellore zones led the list of land registrations. “Some offices had nil registrations,” an official said. Hardly 40% of the total staff reported for duty. “Several staff residing in Chennai could not commute to offices in the fringes because these are located in neighbouring districts and movement between districts has been restricted,” a subregistrar said.

A total of 25 offices across Tamil Nadu were shifted out of containment zones to the nearest registration offices, of which four are in the city and suburbs. The government reopened all the 575 subregistrar office, after a break of 23 days, on Monday based on an order of the department of revenue administration and disaster management on April 15 that allowed operations of government offices with minimal staff.

Industries secretary N Muruganandam, who is incharge of registration department, told TOI that sub registrar offices fell under the bracket of essential services. Denying charges that registration offices were reopened with a lone focus on generating revenue, he said, “They will continue to operate as usual though the government has extended the lockdown period till May 3 as sub-registrar offices were essential services.”