With just three days to go before the revised market value of land is to be implemented, on August 1, there is no clarity on the quantum of hike planned, nor is there any feeler whether there will be hike at all. As the real estate sector is grappling with the COVID-19 situation, with a more than 50% fall in registration income reflecting the slack market conditions, the Department of Stamps and Registration is learnt to be undecided on going ahead.
The market value committee headed by the Joint Collector and comprising the Zilla Parishat CEO, the respective municipal commissioners and Urban Development Authority vice-chairman and the sub-registrar normally meets two months before the actual date and decides the quantum of hike with reference to certain base points. The revision is decided based on parameters like dry/wet land, proximity to highway, presence of industries, institutions and tourist importance.
The process should have normally been completed by mid-July and the proposals uploaded on the department’s website for public consumption. After taking note of the objections, if any, the final rates will have to be implemented from August 1.
Process started
In Chittoor district, the registration department has collected land details from the tahsildars concerned, list of landholdings converted from agriculture to non-agriculture from the RDOs and the final approval list from TUDA. However, nothing is in public domain yet. While Tamil Nadu is offering stamp duty exemption on apartments to encourage buyers, Telangana is still implementing the price revised last in 2013. Andhra Pradesh, which has upwardly revised land rates continuously from 2015 to 2019, is unlikely to offer any respite, in spite of the COVID condition taking a toll on registrations.
“The government neither offers solace, nor is transparent on the hike,” a realtor V. Shanmugam told The Hindu. Officials are learnt to have set the process in motion by June 1, but are yet to make their proposals public.
