New jantri rates come into effect from today

Gandhinagar: After a long wait and several revisions, the Gujarat government on Thursday decided to implement the new jantri rates – or government assessment of the value of real estate properties – from April 1.
Higher by at least 300 to 400 per cent in urban and semi-urban areas like Sanand, where massive developmental activities have taken shape, unlike in the past, there is a separate jantri rate for every square kilometre.
As for urban areas like Ahmedabad and Surat, every square kilometre has been further sub-divided into value zones, with each value zone having a different jantri.
Thus, a property next to a road would have a higher jantri compared to the one that is somewhere inside. “The new jantri rates, based on an assessment done in early March, reflect latest market rates of real estate properties,” a senior government official said, adding, “We have decided to revise jantri every year, as Maharashtra does”.
Last time jantri rates were implemented on April 1, 2008, but they were based on an assessment done by the state government in 2006. The official said, “In 2006, the government had not made a scientific assessment of real estate properties.”
The new kilometre-based formula was sought to be implemented twice since 2008 – in January 2009 and August 2009 – after assessments by government officials. However, it never came through.
Besides flushing out black money from realty transactions, higher jantri rates will mean a sharp rise in the state’s stamp duty collection. While in 2010-11, Rs 3,500 crore worth of stamp duty was collected, a conservative estimate suggests that the collection in the next financial year, 2011-12, is likely to go up by Rs 1,500 crore, reaching Rs 5,000 crore.
However, a senior official contended, “Much depends on the number of sales deeds taking place during the year. Maharashtra’s stamp duty collection stands at Rs 15,000 crore.”