Government loosing massive revenue on expired land lease deeds
12 Apr, 2012A RTI application has revealed that many land lease deeds have not been re-claimed by the administration even after the expiry of the lease period. It has been reported that there are at lease 400 such deeds in Mumbai alone where the lessee continues to enjoy the benefit of the lease deed even after the expiry of the lease period. It has been revealed that over 298 acres of land in the heart of Mumbai fetches a rent of just 2.5 crores annually whereas even by conservative estimates, the rent should exceed 400 crores. As per the disclosure, a 1 acre plot was leased to Simplex Mills Mahalaxmi area in 1884 for 99 years annual lease rent of Rs. 48.13 i.e. less than a paisa per square metre. The Information Commissioner Shri Shailesh Gandhi has claimed that if all the expired lease rent are renewed at competitive rates, the state government could earn over 8ooo crores annually.
If this might be the situation in Mumbai, then a similar situation is likely in all major towns of India where the administration needs to examine all old cases of lease and take action for their renewal at competitive rates.