DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday announced that people, who have shops or houses on lease or rent from the municipalities for over 20 years, can become owners of the property by paying a price below the collector rate. He also said that for this, a scheme, which will be applicable for urban areas, will be notified on Monday. Collector or circle rate is the minimum designated price for land or property fixed for a locality, at which transactions have to be registered. "We have formulated a scheme under which those who are in possession of such properties, be it houses or shops, for more than 20 years, all such will be given ownership rights," Khattar said while addressing a virtual news conference. "Once the eligible people apply, they will be given relaxation in collector rate?if they are in possession of the property for more than 50 years, they will get a rebate of 50 per cent on collector rate," he said. Likewise, if it is under possession for 40 years, the rebate will be 40 per cent, 30 per cent in case of 30 years, and 20 per cent for 20 years, which is the minimum period required to avail the scheme, Khattar said. However, the upper ceiling for rebate on collector rate is 50 per cent, he said. The person should have completed 20 years of being in possession of the property as of December 31, 2020 to avail the scheme, according to a policy. The chief minister said after applying under the scheme, the applicant will have to deposit 25 per cent of the collector rate charge within 15 days and the remaining 75 per cent in the next 45 days. "Once full payment is made and subject to fulfilment of all laid down conditions, the ownership of the property, which is the house/shop, will be transferred in their name," Khattar said. He said if a municipality has leased or rented any house or shop to one or more persons, then the amount will have to be paid as per the fixed floor-wise formula under the scheme. While announcing another scheme, he said in cities, there are small chunks of land belonging to civic bodies, which have been unused or their way has been blocked by an adjacent piece of plot belonging to a private person. The chief minister said that "a provision has been made where municipalities can now sell such unused land to either the adjoining plot holders or to anyone else who is willing to buy such land". This will also reduce the possibility of illegal encroachment of such property, Khattar said. The money earned by the municpalities against sale of such land will kept in a separate account for the purpose of asset creation, he said. The chief minister said that the state government has restructured and redesignated the Command Area Development Authority (CADA) as Micro Irrigation and Command Area Development Authority (MICADA). This has been done to promote micro-irrigation and for effective implementation of the works pertaining to canals, he said. The main objective of MICADA is to ensure maximum use of available water in irrigation and an amount of Rs 3,700 crore will be spent on pavement of canals, Khattar said. (editor@dailyworld.in)