Urban News

With the Delhi government yet to formally notify the new circle rates announced on June 14, the Capital’s real estate market has been busy pushing through deals and registering them over the last fortnight.

The new rates are at least three times the existing ones, and as a result the number of documents received by sub-registrars across Delhi has registered a 20-25 per cent jump, said Revenue department officials. “We haven’t formally tabulated the transactions so far, but there are reports of an increase in the number of transactions in anticipation of the hike,” said Principal Secretary, Revenue, D M Spolia.

The maximum increase has been reported from mid-income areas in Northwest Delhi and West Delhi, officials said. These include areas like Narela, Rohini, Mongolpuri, Saraswati Vihar and Model Town in Northwest Delhi and Mansarovar Garden and major commercial and residential areas like Janakpuri and Tilak Nagar in West Delhi. Till the new rates come into force sometime next month, transactions are being done according to the structure introduced in 2007.

The existing circle rates — the minimum amount at which a property is valued and sold — were fixed according to the categories defined by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for collecting property tax. “But we realised that there was a difference of 1,000 per cent in the market value and the circle rates fixed by us in some cases. The existing rates reflected only 30-40 per cent of the actual market value,” Spolia added. As part of a survey conducted last year, the Revenue department found that the circle rates for built up flats in areas like Vasant Kunj and Friends Colony were almost the same as those in Govindpuri. 

In a bid to reduce this discrepancy between the actual market price of a property and the existing circle rates, the government announced a new policy earlier this month. In the new scheme, Defence Colony, Greater Kailash, Gulmohar Park, Panchsheel Enclave, Green Park and Hauz Khas that fall under Category A for property tax collection, will register a 300 per cent increase in circle rates. The rates have been revised from the existing

Rs 43,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh per square metre in these South Delhi colonies.

While the government has done away with the categories defined by the MCD, it has defined new slabs and categorised Delhi’s 2,480 colonies under those slabs taking into account factors like infrastructure availability and civic facilities. With the new rates, the government is expecting a 35 per cent jump in revenue generation, adding another Rs 400 crore to its coffers. The current system generates a revenue of about Rs 940 crore annually, said the officials said.

“We are definitely expecting an increase in revenue, but this also depends on the way the market behaves,” Spolia cautions. The slump in 2008-09 had affected revenue generation, with the government taking in just Rs 786.86 crore.

TRENDS BEFORE THE HIKE

Properties under categories D, E, F and G have most transactions. Most of these are in colonies of localities like Karala, Najafgarh, Sultanpur Majra, Khirki Extension, Janakpuri, Uttam Nagar, Burari and Chattarpur.

In January 2009 E Category properties had the highest number of dealings in Northwest Delhi, with 1,080 transactions. This increased to 1,768 transactions in January 2010 constituting 25.07 per cent of all documents registered.

Properties in category A, B, C and H have fewer transactions in. In January 2010, colonies in Category A recorded only 1.55 per cent of registered documents. These include areas like Defence Colony, Vasant Vihar and Gulmohar Park. Category B and C include areas like GK, Kailash Colony, Vasant Kunj and Patel Nagar. Category H (2.42 per cent) consists of unauthorised colonies.