One year on, Nagpur development body yet to execute PMAY lease deeds
NAGPUR: Even though the PMAY beneficiaries have received possession of flats over a year ago, Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) has not executed lease deed with them. This is going to add financial burden of over Rs64,000 on them.
This has come to fore from a letter written by BJP MLA from East Nagpur Krishna Khopde to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis a couple of days ago.
“Homeless people have been allotted flats by the central and state governments under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). The government also gave them subsidy. The beneficiaries — poor and mostly labourers — are facing uphill task of paying high stamp duty for the lease deed, which they cannot afford. Therefore, they should be facilitated the lease deed at a nominal Rs1,000 stamp duty,” Khopde wrote in the letter.
The NMRDA and state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule have also written letters on May 14 and September 17, respectively, to the government requesting the same, says Khopde’s letter.
Stamp duty is charged around 7% of the total value of flat in the city. The total cost of a PMAY flat is Rs9.15 lakh, thus the stamp duty amount comes to Rs64,050.
A few beneficiaries told TOI, “We had to take loan for paying Rs6.65 lakh to the NMRDA. Majority of us have obtained loans at higher interest rates and paying the equated monthly instalments (EMIs). Even though we have paid one-time maintenance charges of Rs25,000, the possibility of facing more such charges cannot be ruled out as the quality of construction is very poor.”
“Even after paying full amount, many facilities have been not provided in the flats. Gram panchayat is asking us to pay property tax of Rs1,300. Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) has also issued demand note seeking Rs505 as ground rent. We have to pay for electricity and drinking water also,” they said.
“The flat scheme is situated on the city’s outskirts, so we had to buy two-wheelers for commuting and also spend on fuel. We are already in deep trouble and cannot afford any more financial burden,” they said.
The beneficiaries had paid Rs1,000 to Rs2,000 as registration charges during submission of applications.
NMRDA officials say the government has been requested to exempt the beneficiaries from paying stamp duty. “We will follow whatever decision is taken by the government,” they said.
While granting ownership rights, the government had taken a considerate decision to exempt slum-dwellers who have set up shanties by encroaching land owned by the state or its agencies from paying any charges — land cost, ground rent or stamp duty. However, similar exemptions have been ignored in case of the PMAY beneficiaries.