In a bid to improve land dealings in the city, the new KMC regime is likely to set up an advisory group, which will put its recommendations before the mayor .jpg) As the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is about to form the new Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) board with Sovan Chatterjee as the mayor, Bengal realtors are expecting some positive moves. Earlier this month, Trinamool Congress humbled the Left Front by bagging 95 wards of the total 141.Over the last 5-6 years, KMC had been selling land to developers at plush locations at steep prices through the bidding process. The authority earned close to Rs 629 crore from only three land deals in 2006-07. Currently, the authority has plots in posh areas like EM Bypass, informs internal sources.
Besides KMC, the West Bengal Housing Board and the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) are the two other government bodies that have been earning big bucks through land deals.
“Whether transparency in land deals will be enhanced or not under the new regime is yet to be seen,” says Biplab Kumar, senior marketing manager of NK Realtors, a reputed property firm in the city.
CREDAI comments
In a bid to improve land dealings in the city, the new KMC regime is likely to set up an advisory group, which will put its recommendations before the mayor.
“I do hope the new regime brings much more transparency in land dealings and not consign to a selected few,” says Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) president Santosh Rungta.
However, Mr Rungta says that the new regime should at first work on the municipal taxes and bring a major reform in the taxation system. Currently, 56% of the total rental is paid to KMC as tax, 33% to the income tax department and the remaining 10.5% is charged as service tax. Apart from this, unlike other states where building plans are sanctioned within 15 days-1 month, KMC takes 6 months-2 years time for doing the same, thereby jeopardising development, points out Mr Rungta.
“This kind of system is not only obsolete but also increases complexities, so we expect the new KMC regime to implement the unitary method of taxation at the earliest,” says Utpal Ray, manager of D M Real Estate Developers, a small-sized property firm in the metropolis. Mr Ray further added that it is not about who is in power, what is required is to understand the nity-gritties and thereby reforming the whole system. The authority also needs to act stringent in case of plan sanctions and stop to illegal authorisation.
According to sources, KMC has already appointed a consultant to kick start the new system of taxation by 2010-11.
Jeeta Bandopadhyay |
