By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent
Ahmedabad: After setting up an inquiry commission to study the polarisation of population in the state since 1947, Narendra Modi government is going to amend an existing law to make transfer of properties more difficult.
The law has been in existence in the state since 1991 when there was Congress government in power in the state. But it had been introduced and implemented only in old city areas of Ahmedabad with a view to prevent distress sale of houses because the commercial capital of Gujarat witnessed frequent communal riots in those days.
Many people belonging to Hindu and Muslim communities sold out their houses at a throw away price to shift to the areas they considered to be safer. Owing to that particular situation, Muslims with properties in Hindu areas received much less than market price and the same was the case with Hindus in Muslim areas.
However, the Modi government now has decided to extend it all over the state, in every town and village. Besides, it also wants to give sweeping powers to collectors without whose permission no transfer of property can take place.
Though Modi’s move is apparently intended to stopping ghettoisation but it seems extremely dangerous to the Muslims. Once the law comes into force, it will be tougher for Muslims to buy properties belonging to non-Muslims in Gujarat.
Known as Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from premises in Disturbed Areas Act, popularly known as Disturbed Areas Act, brought in 1991, was meant to check ghettoisation and ensure that people were not forced to distress sale of their properties.
However, many people outsmarted the law by using power of attorney to sell the properties. According to real estate dealers, about 30,000 properties were transferred through power of attorney so far but the buyers are yet to get proper legal documents of ownership and it creates lot of problems in resale and development of properties.
However, Modi government is going to introduce an amendment into the Act by bringing a bill to this effect in the state assembly on July 28. The bill aims to give more powers to district collectors. Under the amendments prepared, the district collectors will have powers to start inquiry suo motu or on an application from any person, into distress sale of property between two different communities. If the collector feels that the transfer was illegal, he can restore the possession of the property to the seller at any point of time or can take the property into his own custody temporarily and manage such property where transferor fails to take the possession of it and restrain the transferee from making any improvement in the property.
The move is seen by the activists as an instrument to further harass Muslims.
Earlier, whenever there was a riot or disturbances, Muslims had the option to shift to Muslim-dominated areas by buying the Hindu properties in Muslim neighbourhoods because they felt secure in Muslim localities. However, the elements in the Sangh Parivar felt the new trend unfavourable for them and they had been opposing it since 2002 communal riots. In many cases, they got the property deals cancelled through their influence in the administration.
So, this move to amend the Disturbed Areas Act. In the saffronised society of Gujarat, the amendment will restrict Muslims from buying Hindu properties and hence, prevent them from settling in safer areas.
Commenting on the development, senior Gujarat High court lawyer and human rights activist Girish Patel said, “it is the most dangerous move intended at harassing the Muslims’’.
According to him, the new law is most likely to be abused because the administrative machinery in the state has become communalized and there is no guarantee that the district collector will not misuse his/her powers.
Commenting that the proposed legislation will make it more difficult for Muslims to move out of their ghetto areas such as Juhapura in Ahmedabad, Tandalja in Vadodara, noted human rights activist and president of Gujarat unit of Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL) J. S. Bandukwala said : “This will only make ghettoisation worst. It will hurt even the image of Gujarat’’.
Activist Yusuf Sehikh said that it was the “most dangerous move of the Modi government’’ as it would leave no option for the Muslims to shift from one area to another even during normal times in search for livelihood, start a business, setting up a factory, school, college and any institution in non-Muslim areas.
“The move is aimed at isolating Muslims and crush them further’’, commented Munir Khairuwala of All India Milli Council, Gujarat branch.
Catholic human rights activist and director of NGO Prashant Fr. Cedric Prakash said that the move amounted violation of the freedom guaranteed under the constitution to buy properties and settle down at a place of one’s choice.
“It is really a very dangerous move’’, commented Fr. Prakash.