Vizag land registration dept eyes Rs 15cr extra revenue

The land registration department is expecting an additional revenue of Rs 12-15 crore from Visakhapatnam district during this fiscal following the state government's decision to hike registration charges.

The government increased the market value of lands with effect from August 1, 2006, resulting in steep hike.

Contrary to hiking the land value every two years, the government announced the increase for the second time since July 2005. Another departure the government made this time is to increase the land value by 15-35 per cent as against 10-15 per cent earlier.

Land prices have touched an all-time high even in surrounding rural areas in Visakhapatnam as several panchayats and Gajuwaka municipality have been merged with the Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation after its upgradation to 'Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation'.

For instance, the land value at MVP Colony has zoomed to Rs 10,000 per square yard compared with Rs 7,500 per sq yard till recently.

In the Asilametta area, the land price has touched the sky at Rs 21,000 per sq yard as against Rs 16,500 per sq yard. The costliest place in Vizag is Dabagardens where the land price has reached an unbelievable Rs 21,800 compared with Rs 18,750 not long ago.

Even in peripheral areas like Madhurawada, Parawada, Aganampudi, Anandapuram, Gopalapatnam, Pendurthi and Vepagunta, land prices have increased by as much as 15-25 per cent.

According to real estate companies, the increase in land prices would make housing an expensive proposition.

"During the last fiscal, the land registration department here contributed Rs 165 crore revenue to the state exchequer. This year, the government has set a target of Rs 182 crore. We are confident of crossing the target after the government's decision," I R Damodar Rao, joint sub-registrar, told Business Standard.