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HMDA spins money for state exchequer
The HMDA is helping the Revenue Department fill state government coffers. The metropolitan body is collecting NALA (non-agricultural land assessment) tax along with the fee for layout regularization (LR). While the fee collected for the layout regularisation will be with the HMDA, the NALA fee collected by the Revenue Department would go to the state exchequer.
Hyderabad: The HMDA is helping the Revenue Department fill state government coffers. The metropolitan body is collecting NALA (non-agricultural land assessment) tax along with the fee for layout regularization (LR). While the fee collected for the layout regularisation will be with the HMDA, the NALA fee collected by the Revenue Department would go to the state exchequer.
The HMDA coming under the MA&UD (municipal administration and urban development) wing thus far collected Rs 237 crore as NALA tax. It may be mentioned here that the HMDA made it mandatory for all applications received under the layout regularisation scheme to submit NALA clearance certificate.
With real estate boom in city peripheral areas, reality ventures mushroomed in farm lands to make layouts and later sell plots at premium rates ensuring property owners laugh all the way to banks. While doing such land conversions, it is mandatory to pay the NALA tax, but rules were not followed at that time.
However, while taking up the layout regularisation scheme, the HMDA insisted on land conversion document to consider the application. The metropolitan body also got a nod from the Revenue Department to collect the tax from applicants and later remit to it.
The HMDA received 1.75 lakh applications for LRS, of which nearly one lakh have been approved for regularisation.
Interestingly, 99 per cent of applications cleared for issuing final proceedings do not have land conversion documents with them.
Hence applicants had to pay the NALA tax as well as LRS fee to get their plot regularized. This move of the metropolitan body faced stiff opposition from property owners as well as local MLAs when it was proposed in 2016, but they fell in line after court intervention.
Although in the initial period, it was suggested to collect nine per cent of the registration value as land conversion tax, later it was reduced considerably bringing relief to plot owners. With the LR scheme yet to be fully completed, the present Rs 237 crore NALA tax figure is set to increase further in coming weeks.
By: Mahesh Avadhutha
