State Government increases guidance value of agriculture land upto 25%

 BENGALURU: In Karnataka the guidance value of agriculture land has been increased by up to 25% by the state government, a move that will certainly cheer up the farmers, but is more likely to be effecting the middle class families who are looking to buy budget homes. The new guidance value has been revised after a gap of two years after it came into effect on the 1st of January.

KV Trilok Chandra, the inspector general of registration and commissioner of stamps said that, “We have increased guidance value of agriculture land by 5% to 25% to bring it on par with market value. Farmlands on the outskirts of major cities and along major highways mainly in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi-Dharwad and Mangalore have seen the highest increase.”

However, the value has gone up to Rs 1.8 crore per acre in some parts of Mysore rural taluk, Rs 1.2 crore in parts of Bidadi taluk in Ramanagara district and up to Rs 80 lakh in the Hosabettu area in Dakshina Kannada. The move is significant since a person buying land will have to pay a minimum 5.6% of guidance value as stamp duty.

“As land rates rise, farmers are looking to exit agriculture and the trinity of realtors, politicians and business magnates are converging on them looking to create a marketplace for such transactions,’’ said Ramesh Kallahalli, a realtor dealing in farmland.

Damla Matthew, MD, of the Damden Properties, who is a developer of budget homes, has said that the government is in danger of killing the golden goose (real estate). “Rising land prices have already hurt the Union government’s ‘Housing for All by 2022 mission’ as it has deterred developers from building low-cost homes.”