The real estate sector, badly hit by the lockdown, sustained a deathblow due to the Hemant Soren government’s latest decision to withdraw the facility of property registry at the rate of Rs 1 for women in the state, launched by the previous Raghubar Das government.
Private builders of Dhanbad engaged in construction of flats, duplexes and bungalows expressed apprehension regarding the cancellation of many property bookings due to the government decision.
Amresh Singh, district president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India said, “We are expecting a great setback to the state’s real estate sector due to latest decision of the government as we have already started receiving calls from the women customers who are demanding a return of the booking amount as well as cancellation.”
Over 10,000 people across Jharkhand and around 1,000 in Dhanbad have booked property in hope of registering the same at the rate of Rs 1, but they will now have to pay around Rs 2.5 lakh instead of Rs 1.
“Given the economic recession, everybody is facing a financial crunch, so the risk of cancellation of bookings has increased” said Singh, adding that the government should explore other options to gain revenue as the decision will badly hit the real estate sector.
“The real estate sector provides employment to lakhs of people. In the present situation, when a large number of migrant workers are returning to the state from various parts of the country, this sector could have served as a major source of employment for them. But due to the adverse impact of the decision to withdraw the Rs 1 registration facility, the government may lose them this crucial source of employment” said Santosh Kumar Singh, vice president of district unit of CREDAI.
“We request the government to not let down the dreams of thousands of women, who want to have their own house. The withdrawal of the registration facility will mean that a large number of them will not be able to pay the higher registry charges ranging from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh,” said secretary of CREDAI, Manoj Modi.