After nearly 8 years, Ayodhya land circle rates hiked up to 200%

Indian Express

4 hours ago

After nearly eight years, the circle rate of land in Ayodhya, where a Ram Temple was inaugurated last year, has been increased up to 200 per cent, depending on the use of land and location.
While the order is effective from Saturday, a holiday, the land registry, as per the new circle rates, will begin from Monday.
'We have approved the proposal for a hike in circle rate after considering the objections we had received on our proposal circulated in August last year,' District Magistrate (Ayodhya) Nikhil Funde told The Indian Express on Sunday.
On the hike, Funde said: 'The demand from the public was mostly to raise it more than our proposals in several areas. But the decision has been taken based on market rates and a survey conducted by us.'
The circle rate is the district administration's assessment of land value in its jurisdiction, based on which stamp duty is fixed on sale or purchase, and based on which the administration acquires property from land owners, including farmers.
On July 10 last year, The Indian Express had reported that the circle rates in Ayodhya have not been increased for the past seven years despite a surge in land transactions and the rising market value of land ever since the 2019 ruling of the Supreme Court that paved way for the construction of the Ram Temple in the town.
The Uttar Pradesh Stamp (Amendment) Act, 1997, which was amended in 2015, stated that the 'District Collector, as far as possible, in every August month, will determine Rs per square metre minimum value of Agriculture/non-Agriculture land' and other immovable properties considering use of land, irrigation facilities, distance from road, market, bus station, railway station, factories, educational institutions, hospitals and government offices; its location within urban, semi-urban or rural areas; and other possibilities like distance from developed areas.
Ayodhya is among 54 districts of Uttar Pradesh where the circle rate was last revised in 2017. In 21 districts, it was revised in 2023. The rates were also revised in districts adjoining Ayodhya such as Barabanki, Ambedkar Nagar, Gonda and Basti and Sultanpur.
The steepest hike in the circle rate has been in areas near the Ram Janmabhoomi where the market rate of land has increased manifold since the Supreme Court's Ram Temple verdict.
The highest hike of 200 per cent has been in villages like Tihura Manjha where the circle rate for 'agriculture' land since August 2017 ranged from Rs 11 lakh to Rs 23 lakh per hectare. In the latest circle rate, it has gone up to Rs 33 lakh and Rs 69 lakh per hectare. At Tihura Manjha village, the House of Abhinandan Lodha has purchased land and actor Amitabh Bachchan had signed an agreement for two plots last year.
For Tihura Uparhar, the circle rate has been increased from Rs 32-71 lakh per hectare to Rs 42-95 lakh per hectare.
In Shahnawzpur Majha, the rate has been increased from Rs 75-169 lakh per hectare to Rs 98-221 lakh per hectare. In Barahta Majha, the circle rate has been hiked from Rs 75 lakh- Rs 169 lakh per hectare to Rs 98 lakh- 221 lakh per hectare.
At Ganja village, where the airport is located, old rates ranged between Rs 28 lakh to Rs 64 lakh per hectare. The new rates are between Rs 35 and 80 lakh per hectare.
The UP Avas Vikas Parishad, which has proposed to build a township spread over nearly 1,800 acres, acquired nearly 600 acres until last March in villages such as Shahnawaz Pur Majha, Barhata Manjha, and Tihura Manjha.
However, some of the farmers said the hike is not up to their expectations. 'Rates should have been increased at least 200 per cent in every village surrounding nearly 10 km of Ram Janmabhoomi. Farmers are not benefitting from the developments that are taking place in Ayodhya,' said Durga Yadav, who is fighting a legal case for an increase in circle rates in the Allahabad High Court.
In last year's Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party candidate Awadhesh Prasad defeated the sitting BJP MP from Faizabad parliamentary constituency, where Ayodhya is located. The Milkipur (SC) Assembly seat, vacated by Prasad, was won by the BJP later.
Shyamlal Yadav is one of the pioneers of the effective use of RTI for investigative reporting. He is a member of the Investigative Team. His reporting on polluted rivers, foreign travel of public servants, MPs appointing relatives as assistants, fake journals, LIC's lapsed policies, Honorary doctorates conferred to politicians and officials, Bank officials putting their own money into Jan Dhan accounts and more has made a huge impact. He is member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). He has been part of global investigations like Paradise Papers, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, Uber Files and Hidden Treasures. After his investigation in March 2023 the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York returned 16 antiquities to India. Besides investigative work, he keeps writing on social and political issues. ... Read More