Delhi assembly elections: Circle rate for agricultural land may go up to Rs 10 crore/acre

NEW DELHI: To woo rural voters ahead of the assembly elections, Delhi government is working on a proposal to increase circle rates on agricultural land, a long-standing demand by the capital’s farmers’ community.
While the prevailing circle rate of farming land in the capital is Rs 53 lakh per acre, a source said the government is likely to increase it to Rs 10 crore per acre.A proposal is currently being worked upon by the revenue department and may soon be placed before the cabinet.
“The circle rate committee had submitted its report to the government last year. Following that a three-member team of district magistrates formed by the government on the issue had also submitted its report. The revenue department has now come up with a proposal on the revision of circle rates in Delhi,” said a Delhi government official.
With Delhi assembly elections likely to be held in early next year, a source said the AAP government is willing to revise circle rates in the next few weeks. The proposal, however, will have to be cleared by the lieutenant governor, said an official.
According to Delhi Dehat Vikas Manch president Naresh Kumar, the agricultural land in Haryana villages adjacent to the Delhi border is acquired for Rs17-18 crore per acre. “We have been demanding that the circle rate is fixed at Rs20 crore per acre to actually bring it on par with the prevailing market rate,” Kumar said.