Proximity pays. It is common knowledge that the closer a property is to a major source of development, the higher is its value. The unsaid advantage enjoyed by the adjacent land now comes at a price, as the State government is mulling a new policy to fill the exchequer by taxing ‘proximity’.
Having set the ball rolling on Market Value Revision 2021, the Department of Stamps and Registration is expected to blaze a trail in fixing the value. The process has remained the same from 2010 to 2020, but 2021 seems to be the game-changer in tapping the unexplored sources of revenue, as the Commissioner and Inspector-General M.V. Seshagiri Babu has initiated a new process.
The properties having the potential to get value, but remaining under-valued on paper are the ones to be targetted. For example, the land abutting a highway certainly has a higher value. But the land in a survey number situated next to such ‘high value’ properties also enjoy an approximately better value, if not the same, which is not reflected on paper. As a result, the department is losing out revenue from the registration of such properties. It is this gap that the department seeks to plug.
Sub-Registrars hail move
"It is a welcome decision. People enjoying the benefit of proximity to a high value property will not mind paying more. It will however be a delicate walk, where the government seeks to increase its revenue without burdening the public," G.V. Konda Reddy, president of the Andhra Pradesh State Sub-Registrars’ Association tells The Hindu. The contours of the proposal are still hazy, as the officials are still working out the finer details. The implementation will be done only after factoring in the objections, if any, flagged by the public on the department website.
The issue has, however, raised the hackles of small property owners. "We are struggling to lead a normal life but the government is disinclined to see the reality," fumes Pagadala Babu, whose land is situated far away from the Tirupati-Chennai highway in Vadamalapet mandal, which may now be impacted by the new rule.
Even as the department is keeping the stakeholders guessing, the latter are keeping their fingers crossed, worrying over the likely impact on them.
