New Jantri In Ahmedabad

 Gujarat is likely to be flooded with lakhs of new jantri rates for the entire state in about a week's time. The rates will decide stamp duty to be charged for each real estate deal.

Supposed to be government assessment of market value of real estate, the state revenue department has submitted the final draft of approximately 7.79 lakh grids, each containing a separate rate, for a final nod to Chief Minister Narendra Modi. "While some areas will see a rise in rates, others will witness a fall", a senior official said. "We are expecting government nod for the new rates any time after the by-elections to seven Assembly seats come to an end on September 10", a senior bureaucrat said.

The official added, "The grids include approximately 20,000 value zones identified in the state's urban areas. While land in rural areas has been divided into irrigated, non-irrigated, wasteland, residential area and so on, value zones of urban areas have been assessed on the basis of their commercial value."

Originally supposed to be kilometer-wise jantri for 1.97 lakh square kilometers of the state's area, the government decided to divide each kilometer into at least three parts to provide a more realistic assessment of real estate property.

"Plans are now being worked out to put each of the grids, including their survey numbers, on the web, so that anyone wanting to buy land can know the government's assessment of its market value", the bureaucrat said, adding, "Banks offering loan on real estate property, too, will find it easier to make an assessment."

The new jantris will simultaneously make it easier to calculate premium for converting land from new tenure to old tenure. New tenure land was allocated to poor farmers during the land reforms days. They are not allowed to sell the land directly to anyone without premium being charged by the government for converting the plot's land tenure status.

As for old tenure land, buyers can purchase land straight from the land owner. The new jantris will also tell the government the actual rate of government land before allocating it to anyone for educational or other social purpose.