Circle rates: All eyes on CM Sheila Dikshit

NEW DELHI: The uncertainty over notification of the revised circle rates continued in Delhi on Thursday as everyone waited for chief minister Sheila Dikshit, to take a final call. The CM and the bureaucratic brass returned from Tokyo, Japan, late in the evening. The new rates were to be notified this week.

With the Lieutenant Governor’s office asking the state government not to notify the circle rates in its proposed form, the state cabinet is likely to discuss the issue on Friday.

Sources said the delay in notification of rates was a matter of concern and will be a priority issue to be taken up with the CM. While the schedule for Friday is not final yet, top sources said the matter calls for a cabinet meeting.

The government has decided to double the rate slabs for registration of properties as underevaluation of properties is costing a major revenue loss to the state. For a cash-strapped government, which has used up most of its resources in the Commonwealth Games, the delay in notifying the revised rates is not good news.

For the record, after the state government sought the LG’s assent for notification of circle rates, Tejendra Khanna reportedly suggested that the circle rates for colonies where land is expensive should be more. He had sought reduction of rates in colonies inhabited by middle and lower middleclass families. However, the cabinet stuck to its decision of doubling the existing rates across eight categories of colonies. The LG had given suggestions for the circle rates revision.

But the final approved circle rates sent to Khanna for approval prior to notification did not appeal to him. The LG asked the state to hold back the process till his office gave a green signal.