PUNE: Citizens will now be able to register their property documents on weekends too as the state property registration department has decided to keep its 27 offices, including five in Pune and one in Mumbai, open on Saturdays and Sundays.
Against a total of 516 property registration offices in the state, only five were earlier operating on weekends.
Revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Wednesday approved the department's proposal in this regard, state IGR HH Sonawane said on Thursday. He said of the 27 registration offices allowed to work on weekends, five are from Pune, one each from Mumbai city, Thane, Nashik and Nagpur.
The demand was earlier raised by the developers too, considering many homebuyers preferred to register their documents on weekends, instead of working days due to job commitments.
In Pune, two offices in Pimpri Chinchwad municipal limits, two in Kothrud and one near Pune Collectorate will remain open on weekends. "The staffers working at these 27 registration offices will be given an off during weekdays to make up for the extra hours," Sonawane said.
Credai Pune-metro president Ranjit Naiknavare told TOI that the developers' body has been making this demand for a long time now. "The footfall at the registration offices has been increasing and this initiative will definitely help citizens to register their documents at their convenience," he said.
Citizens said the move would help all. Mahesh Verma, who had to take two days off from work to register documents, said the weekend was always a better option for both citizens as well as the builders.
