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Delhi High Court Directs DDA To Process 1373 Pending Freehold Conversion Applications In Two Months
A Division Bench of the has delivered a significant directive to the , ordering it to process all 1,373 pending applications for conversion of properties from within two months. The order, passed by Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan on , comes after months of inaction by the authorities, leaving thousands of property owners in limbo.
The Portal That Went Dark
The controversy stems from the DDA's Interactive Disposal of Land Information System (IDLI) portal, which has been non-functional since . This portal is the sole mechanism for property owners to apply for conversion—a process that transfers full ownership rights to residents. The court noted that the had issued a communication on that date, triggering a policy review that effectively froze all conversion applications.
Between 2020 and 2026, 1,373 applications were filed, with the DDA collecting a staggering
Rs 155.06 crore
in
. Shockingly, 308 of these applications had already received approval, yet
remained unexecuted.
"The continued delay from January, 2026 till July, 2026 in restoring and facilitating the process of conversion of properties from
in Delhi is a matter of serious concern,"
the court had observed in an earlier order.
Court Pulls Up Authorities for 'Completely Unacceptable' Delay
Throughout the proceedings, the court expressed growing frustration with the lack of progress. Despite multiple directions, including a meeting ordered between MoHUA Secretary Ms. D. Thara and DDA Vice-Chairman Mr. N. Saravana Kumar on , no substantive policy decision emerged. On the final hearing date, Ms. Thara sought an additional two to four months to finalize the policy.
The Bench was scathing in its response:
"In the opinion of the Court this is completely unacceptable. The Court has given sufficient opportunity to MoHUA and the DDA to look into this matter and formulate the policy. Various orders passed by this Court from
onwards would show that for at least six months the conversion policy was not looked into at all."
The court also rejected MoHUA's affidavit, which argued that payment of
does not create a
to conversion at the rate prevalent on the date of application.
"This Court is not satisfied with this recent affidavit,"
the judges noted, pointing to the
"enormous difficulties being faced by the residents of Delhi."
Clear Directive: Process Pending Applications, Frame Future Policy
Invoking the principle of justice, the court directed that all pending applications must be processed within two months in accordance with the . The order emphasizes that Rs 155.06 crore has already been collected, and applicants cannot be kept waiting indefinitely.
For future applications, the court granted MoHUA two months to formulate a fresh policy and place it before the Bench by the next hearing on . Both Ms. Thara and Mr. Saravana Kumar have been directed to remain present at the next proceedings.
The case has been listed as
, with the court making it clear that the conversion of properties
"is an important right available to citizens, enabling them to freely deal with, transfer and otherwise transact in respect of their
."
