Mumbai, Mar 12, 2025, IANS

Mumbai, March 12 (IANS) State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday scoffed at rumours about 10 to 15 per cent rise in ready reckoner rates in Maharashtra from April 1 for the fiscal year 2025-26. Ready Reckoner Rate is the minimum property value set by the government as a reference point for property transactions and taxation. He told the Maharashtra Legislative Council that a survey is currently underway across the state regarding ready reckoner rates. In the past few years, ready reckoner rates have increased in some areas, while in some places the rates have been kept constant. There has been no rate hike in 2023-24 and 2024-25, he said. "There are talks in some media that there will be a 10-15 per cent increase in rates, but they are baseless," he clarified. The Minister said that the government has no intention of increasing ready reckoner rates in any part of the state, but while determining prices in the state, factors like local conditions, development rate and demand and supply are being considered. In each district, a committee is functioning under the chairmanship of the District Collector, which determines the ready reckoner rates based on the advice of local people's representatives and experts, he added. In this, some reduction in ready reckoner rates is also considered as per the need, the Minister said. He was responding after a slew of suggestions were made by Sunil Shinde, Anil Parab and Sachin Ahir in the Upper House. "There are different types of assets in different parts of Mumbai, and there is a big difference between high-rise buildings, SRA (state rehabilitation authority) projects and slum rehabilitation schemes. Therefore, separate 'value zones' are decided for each area," said Minister Bawankule. He added that adequate care will be taken while fixing the ready deck or rates to ensure thar there is no injustice to the poor and middle class. The Minister said that the government is taking into account the suggestions and objections made by public on January 9. He appealed to the members of public to make suggestions and submit them to the state government before April 1. He added that the government will not increase ready reckoner rates unnecessarily in any area and if necessary prevailing rates will be reduced. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the State Council appealed that the citizens should not fall prey to various schemes that offer high interest rates. He was responding to a question raised by legislator Shashikant Shinde regarding the Torres scam case. Saying that 99 per cent of the schemes that pay high interest are fraudulent, the Chief Minister claimed that no one can pay high interest in this way. "It is possible to pay two to four per cent more interest than the bank's interest rate. But no one can pay more or a lot of interest than that. Therefore, such schemes that offer high interest are fraudulent," he added. He once again appealed to the public not to invest in such fraudulent schemes. Minister of State for Home, Yogesh Kadam, said that an Economic Intelligence Unit is being set up to monitor investment and financial institutions in the state. Action is also being taken as per legal procedures to return the money of the investors who were cheated in the Torres case, he added.