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“I can retain neither respect nor affection for government which
has been moving from wrong to wrong in order to defend its immorality”... Mahatma
Gandhi
“The government cannot give to anybody anything that
the government does not first take from somebody else”... Adrian
Rogers
No need
to introduce author of the earlier quote i.e. “Bapu” & Adrian Rogers
was an American Southern Baptist pastor and conservative author. He
served three terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Though his
words may sound like politician but let me tell you if we think we are a
country ruled by religious issues, well even the western & so called
developed countries are also not free from religion & Christen Churches has
big role in deciding fate of many candidates in the elections, there also. And
that’s why a Pastor’s above words for the working of the govt does, has its
weight! And after all what is religion but a flag to bring people under one
cause & then what is a political party but some another flag & of both
purposes keeps changing depending up on the flag holder, is what we have
witnessed enough times, isn’t it!
Oh k,
frustration is usually father (or mother) of philosophy & I (along with
most of real estate) am no exception to it & the reason is news about
increase in ready reckoner rates of properties mainly in & around Pune! Our
govt does wonderful job especially when issues are related to real estate &
more with Pune (read as PCMC/PMRDA in totality), may be the Smart City Tag
makes us dearer to the gvot. And when its taxing or
collecting money or any stringent policy implementation may it be lock-down or
helmet compulsory (I am firmly with helmet personally), it’s always Pune which
is trial ground. Unfortunately when its doing something positive or taking
right decisions (means logical decisions) or infrastructure development like
public transport (read as PMT) or MSEDCL net work & maintenance (MSEB) then
we are most unpopular child (Dodka Mul in Marathi) for our Mai Baap Govt! And
this fact repeatedly we have witnessed, so when last week the govt announced
stamp duty reduction then also Pune has got minimum discount while Mumbai &
other cities got maximum. At least Pune real estate got something positive but
as usual the govt with its all indecisive confusions over polices, declared the
news just a day before Pitru Pandharwada i.e. non-auspicious fifteen days which
are followed in Hindu Mythology, so the effect of stamp duty reduction has been
yet witnessed in sales or say account books of the builders! And in the mean
time the govt fired salvo which took away the celebrations before the hangover
even started, by increasing ready reckoner rates for Pune, mainly!
Well,
for innocent (and ignorant) souls stamp duty is a service fee or processing fee
charged in form of some percentage on every property (immovable) is by now most
of us know. Ready Reckoner rates are minimum rate defined by the govt of every
piece of land, build up properties of all uses such as residential, commercial
etc in every city & town of the State. You can’t sale your property below
this rate which is decided by the govt (even if you are in great distress)
& is called as ready reckoner rate. Joke is you can sell your
property as many times you feel (or can get) above this RR rate, thus making
real estate as only commodity with Maximum Retail Price is MRP tag for having
lower bar than having an upper selling bar like every other commodity! No
wonder, govt always looks at real estate as Golden Eggs laying hen & takes
a cut at it every time to get more & result is neither there are golden
eggs nor the hen seems to survive anymore is the scene! In
nutshell if the flat holder was going to save by reduction in stamp duty over
the deal amount, the govt increased the deal amount itself voiding the stamp
duty reduction effect over cost saving! In simple words if you buy a flat in
Baner (suburb in Pune) at say Rs 80 lakhs then you will have to pay stamp duty
on this amount but what if you have been asked to pay stamp duty on Rs 85 lakhs,
even if you are buying the flat at Rs 80 lakhs, just because govt says value of
this flat is Rs 85 lakhs! That’s what has happened by increasing ready reckoner
rates!
Indeed
many people (read as common man) will say this is as usual crocodile’s tear
(Marathi phrase) as have not the builders already has enough golden eggs,
that’s why they are crying now just because they don’t get to make more money
now days with such erratic policies of the govt which actually are in favour of
common man to fulfil his or her dream of owning a home in this Smart City i.e.
Pune! Keeping full respect to common man’s emotions & feeling about
real-estate (builders), let me tell you the fact, the govt cares a hang for
common man when it’s about his or her dream of owning a decent home in a decent
location in a decent budget in a decent city! And increasing ready reckoner
rates in this hardest phase of business is one clear example of govt’s turning
blind eye towards real estate & the common man’s dream of owning a home! Just
ask one single question to yourself (each of us) when every media &
individual is screaming on top of voice that rates of homes are falling, there
is no appreciation (well, I am always against speculative appreciation in real
estate) then how can the ready reckoner rate govt increases as these rates are
supposedly indication of market rates or scenario about real estate or say
property deals. And joke is the very same govt has reduced the ready reckoner
rates in Mumbai so who has decided that rates in Mumbai have decreased but in
Pune are still increasing, at least I dint heard to any Aakashwani about
it! Though one silver line in this read reckoner rate hike thing is,
if the govt itself thinks property rates in Pune are increasing then it’s
really a great news for the entire real estate as when all around the country
every commodity’s (including real estate) prices are falling, its only Pune
real estate which is shining bright with rates increasing, isn’t it great!
I do understand
(read as assume) that there is a system by which govt works out or say verifies
the rates of the properties & it’s the process going all around the year.
Best way is check the deals getting registered & more better way is govt
can actually send its people (staff) to speak with the builders or landlords
& check what they quote & to what they negotiate & then only you
can really freeze the rates. As real estate unlike any other product has many
parameters for the actual dealings which includes surrounding locality,
infrastructure & one very important aspect (when its land) i.e. need of the
seller or say greed of the seller of the property! As for a builder bleeding
with interest burden, salaries, over-heads & so many factors, he won’t hold
ready reckoner rate as the bar but will negotiate as much he can to
break free from the cash crunch & which is the scene for a while now
everywhere! At the same time when its land sale then it’s totally up to the
landlord how much he can wait & he (or she) also need not have to hold
ready reckoner rates as bar & can ask any ransom above it!
Agreed
we can't change or fix the ready reckoner rates project to project but high
time to make a logical & transparent system to fix the ready reckoner rates
of the properties & then apply changes to the same instead going by strait
hike or decrease on average level. As apart from need of the deal, projects in
same locality can have different selling rates, depending upon the view or
neighbourhood of the project. At the same time TDR loading norms &
potential which also differs on plot size as well approach road width
parameters makes impact of sale prices which might be different from project to
project.
Another
good news (for now) is Pune Municipal Corporation has allowed for paying
premiums for plan passing of new proposals in instalments for the developers.
This single step can tell the story about situation of cash crunch in real
estate industry & cash is not I mean what our Hon PM is against about, its
money available at our disposal, such is the grave scene around! Considering all these factors if the ready reckoner rates of
properties are worked out & applied then I think life of many people will
be more comfortable, off course if the govt wants that as outcome!
But at
present the way govt is behaving with real estate I remember a folk tale from
Akbar Birbal Stories where; Badsha Akabr who was famous to test nerves
of his ministers, once called them & gave them a goat & told them that
it’s his favourite goat & as the Badsha is going out of town for one month
they should take good care of him & when he will be back he wants the
weight of the goat must not differ a single ounce from what it is today &
Akbar left for his travel! Hearing the weird condition regarding the goat’s
weight, the ministers were panic as how the hell weight can be same that too of
a goat! As usual they all surrendered to Birbal who smiled after listening to
their problem & told them Gurumantra i.e. solution! After one month Akbar
was back in Delhi & summoned for the goat & when its weight was
measured it was exactly the same what it was one month back. Akabar was stunned
& he asked ministers what they did with the goat, to make its weight remain
constant. On this the minister’s told they used to feed the goat normal but in
the night used to tie him outside of a tiger’s cage! Akbar looked at Birbal who
avoided his gaze & Akbar smiled, as he knew whose brain was this!
Well, unfortunately
when it’s the real estate named goat, the ministers seems to have not read the
story keenly & seems to have tied the goat in the tiger’s cage instead
tying it near the cage! Do I need to say anything more about govt & its
attitude towards the real estate as whole as please do mind real estate doesn’t
mean just builders, it’s something which is related to every segment of the
society & owning a home is a right for everyone in the nature!
Unfortunately we are heading towards a world where we have already denied this
right to thousands of the species already by destructing their habitats &
sad part is we are denying the right of owning homes to most of the humans also
by our wrong policies, god bless the goat & the ministers!
-
Sanjay
Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at U-Tube link below..
Please do visit my
blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way(Click link below)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345
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www.punecorporation.org
Take your issues to
Hon PM at link below..
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