Noida: For nearly three weeks, Manish Dixit has been making repeated trips to the sub-registrar’s office in Greater Noida, hoping to complete the registration of the flat he purchased in Greater Noida’s Beta 2. Each visit has ended in disappointment.Dixit bought the apartment, worth Rs 80 lakh, nearly a month ago, financing Rs 65 lakh of the buy through a housing loan from HDFC Bank. While payment formalities have been completed, the final registration remains stuck because of the ongoing strike by lawyers and deed writers protesting against the UP govt’s move to introduce e-registration for property documents.The protest began on June 10, when deed writers stopped work at registry offices in Greater Noida, Dadri and Jewar. They contend that digitising the registration process could eventually reduce the need for their services and threaten livelihoods.In an attempt to address concerns, the state’s inspector general of registration issued a clarification on June 12, stating that e-registration would not apply to all property documents and sale deeds. Instead, the facility would be limited to deeds executed by govt and semi-govt agencies notified under the Uttar Pradesh Online Registration Rules, 2024, and only for first-transfer deeds under approved schemes and sanctioned documents.Despite the clarification, the deadlock has persisted, leaving homebuyers struggling to complete registrations.“I work in a private company and have to keep taking leave to visit the registry office. How long will this continue?” Dixit said. “We somehow manage to get the sellers to come to the office, taking time out of their own work schedules, and then we return empty-handed.”Hundreds of homebuyers across Greater Noida and adjoining areas are facing similar difficulties, having completed financial transactions and paperwork but unable to obtain legal ownership of their properties as registry operations remain disrupted. For many families, the delays are upending carefully planned decisions.Mamta Katiyar hoped to complete the registration of her house before her son left for higher studies. Instead, she has spent the past 10 days making repeated visits to registry offices without progress. “I have taken a loan from Union Bank of India. I thought we would finally be able to shift into our own house, but now the registry has become a problem,” she said, adding that her family had been living in a rented house for years. “Having our own home is like a dream, but now the strike has also disrupted all my plans,” she said.Rahul Aggarwal, a beverage distributor based in Greater Noida, said he and his uncle purchased two houses nearly two months ago, one valued at Rs 80 lakh and another at Rs 1.8 crore. All payments and documentation have been completed, but the registrations remain pending. “Our EMI payments will begin in July,” Aggarwal said, adding that he feared having to pay instalments on a property not yet legally registered in his name. “As the standoff between lawyers and the state govt continues, we are being forced to bear the financial and emotional burden of a conflict in which we have no stake,” he said.The strike has also led to long queues and confusion at registry offices, with many making repeated visits in the hope that operations will resume, even as no clear timeline for resolving the dispute has emerged.Mahesh Bhati, former secretary of the Sadar Bar Association, defended the protest, saying the digitisation push threatened to take away the livelihoods of deed writers and lawyers.“We make around Rs 25,000 to 30,000 a month. Now they are saying they want to digitise it all, where will we go? How will the families of so many of us survive? The govt is not even listening to us,” he said.Bhati alleged the move would digitise the entire process without adequate checks and balances. “They are giving power to authorities, leaving us to die,” he said.Bhati alleged the move would digitise the entire process without adequate checks and balances. “They are giving power to authorities, leaving us to die,” he said.
