The Odisha Cabinet on Monday proposed promulgation of Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) ordinance in the form of a new legislation by repealing the ‘obsolete’ Odisha Apartment Ownership Act, 1982.

The cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, made the proposal in this regard in the backdrop of prevailing stalemate over the registration of apartments and sale deeds due to pendency of cases in the High Court.

“Accordingly, it is proposed to repeal the Odisha Apartment Ownership Act, 1982 (Odisha Act 1 of 1984) and to have a fresh legislation namely Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Ordinance, 2023. The problem faced by the apartment buyers cannot be resolved except by making a new legislation. Since the legislative assembly is not in session, it is proposed to bring the legislation by way of promulgation of an Ordinance”, the state government said in a statement.

The Odisha Apartment Ownership Act, 1982 had been enacted with a view to making provisions for ownership of an individual apartment which came into force on 1 May 1984 and the “Odisha Apartment Ownership Rules, 1992” was framed..

In course of administration of the provisions of the Act and Rules made thereunder; it has been experienced that there are some operational deficiencies which renders it necessary to bring a new legislation.

With a view to promoting apartment and group housing, it is a step forward to provide the individual apartment owners of their rights on common areas and facilities appropriate to such apartment, its proper maintenance and to make such apartment and interest heritable and transferable.

In the meantime, cases have been filed in the Orissa High Court challenging the notification of Odisha Apartment Ownership Rules, 2021 on the ground of apparent contradictions prevailing between the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 and the Odisha Apartment Ownership Rules, 2021.

In the meanwhile, registration of the apartments has been stalled in the wake of the pending cases. The State Government is also losing revenue as the sale deeds are not getting registered. The situation has been prevailing for a long time and there is an immediate need for amendment of the legislation to address the impasse.

It is considered that for better management of the apartments, there is a need to make a number of corrections in different provisions of the existing Act and addition and alteration of different sections. It is therefore considered expedient that instead of going for further amendments of the said Act, a new legislation may be brought by repealing the present Act, it added.