By DC Correspondent

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Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Tuesday directed Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao to focus on increasing revenue in the stamps and registration department and submit a report within 15 days. He also instructed senior officials of the commercial tax department to hold circle-wise review meetings to enhance revenue collections.During a meeting of the sub-committee on state revenue resources mobilisation, Bhatti instructed officials to review various commodities category-wise and stated that the commercial tax department should study practices in other states and explore ways to increase revenue.The Deputy Chief Minister also reviewed the status of the committee formed last year to enhance revenue in the stamps and registration department and the report submitted by that committee. He directed that a special meeting be organised in coordination with other departments linked to stamps and registration, such as HMDA, GHMC, and the Housing Board.Bhatti Vikramarka asked the Chief Secretary to take seriously the matter of coordinating all departments to boost revenue. The ministers stated that the reasons for the transport department’s failure to achieve its targets should be identified, corrective measures should be taken, and, if necessary, a special policy would be formulated.Official sources said the government is seriously considering a revision of market values for agricultural and non-agricultural lands across Telangana, marking the first such exercise in over three years and the first under the current Congress regime. Market value revision committees formed by the stamps and registration department have submitted proposals to the state government, recommending area-wise hikes in land values.The last revision was undertaken by the previous BRS regime in 2021 and 2022, when market values of agricultural lands were hiked by up to 150 per cent and non-agricultural lands, such as open plots, by up to 100 per cent compared to the pre-Telangana state formation levels of 2013. However, while land values were revised in 2021, registration charges remained unchanged until the BRS government increased stamp duty from 6 to 7.5 per cent in July 2022.Officials now view the current revision as a much-needed revenue booster. With revenue from the stamps and registration department falling to Rs 14,307 crore in 2024-25, the new hike is expected to generate an additional Rs 10,000 crore and help meet the government’s target of Rs 25,000 crore in the 2025–26 fiscal year.The BRS government’s last revision came in July 2021, after a gap of seven years, with the lowest agricultural land value fixed at Rs 75,000 per acre. The current government believes this rate is far too low, stating that agricultural lands at such a price are practically non-existent anywhere in the state. It now plans to more than double this base amount.Previously, market values were raised by 50 per cent in the lower range, 40 per cent in the mid-range, and 30 per cent in the higher range. Similarly, the lowest value for open plots, previously set at Rs 100 per sq. yard, was raised to Rs 200 per sq. yard during the 2021 revision. The present government now aims to increase these values by an additional 20 to 40 per cent across all categories.