The Stamps and Registration department has deferred the hike in basic market value that was scheduled to come into effect from August 1 as Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is yet to take a final decision. Mr Reddy has convened a meeting on July 31 to discuss the hike. “It is difficult to implement new rates from August 1. They may be implemented from mid-August or Septem-ber,” a senior official told Deccan Chronicle.
Sources said that the Chief Minister was also in two minds about the increase as on one hand there are hopes of revival of the real estate market which would be hit due to the increased market values and on the other, the government could earn a bad reputation of burdening people. “The Chief Minister is already under fire for enhancing power charges,” a minister said. Officials were also shocked over the reaction to what they described as a “marginal hike in fees”. The impact on people will be much more due to increase in basic market values and the reaction will be more severe, the officials added.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s hike in fees for several transactions raised doubts over their legal validity. Sources in the department said as per Supreme Court guidelines, service charges should not be more than the establishment cost of the respective agency. “The department is getting more than Rs 150 crore towards various fees against establishment cost of less than Rs 100 crore,” an official pointed out.