Govt: Plot-Wise RR Rates In City Within Two Yrs

Nagpur: The Maharashtra govt will soon introduce CTS-card-level micro-zoning of Ready Reckoner (RR) rates that the state claims will benefit plot holders by ending practice of valuing a slum tenement and a luxury high-rise in same locality at the same rate, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said in Nagpur on Thursday. He added a three-phase, property-by-property survey was launched, beginning with Mumbai, and implementation set to roll in Nagpur within two years. The guardian minister said the work started with Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre (MRSAC) handling the survey. Bawankule offered an example of a landmark city hotel as textbook case for why the existing system was distorting valuations across the city. He said, "Today the situation is such that a 1 km by 1 km growth zone has been created. Whatever rate applies to a building like Centre Point Hotel, the same rate applies to every other property in that zone. The rate applicable to a tall, expensive building applies to the entire area."Under the new framework, the RR rate for every property will be tied to actual infrastructure and amenities available in its micro-zone, with separate rates for slum dwellings, standalone houses, mid-tier flats and high-rises within the same locality. He said, "There will be a separate rate for buildings, a separate rate for tall structures, and a separate RR rate for homes of poor citizens." He said the exercise was being undertaken on suggestion of CM Fadnavis, and long-pending demand from CREDAI and the public. TOI reported in April the state dropped proposed RR rate hike to 14% in favour of micro-zoning and also expanded regularisation limit for unauthorised pre-2011 residential constructions from 500 sqft to 1,500 sqft, cut land survey costs from 10,000 to about 1,000 via new software, decentralised quasi-judicial powers, and revenue dispute resolution at 90 days and two hearings.