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Jharkhand woos women with Re 1 stamp duty on property
The current rate for registration of properties is 7% of the purchase value, in which women get a concession.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Jharkhand is set to rewrite land holding in the state. It is formulating a law to allow registration of properties in women’s name at just rupee 1.
The current rate for registration of properties is 7% of the purchase value, in which women get a concession.
“Our decision is to empower women and safeguard their rights,” chief minister Raghubar Das said. He suggested the change at a review meeting on May 3 and his cabinet is expected to give its nod to the proposal this month.
The state government will have to forego about Rs100 crore as a result of this decision, but the BJP is expecting big electoral gains.
A total of 39.7 crore women voters were registered in 2014 and 65.5% of them exercised their franchise. The party is counting on the support of women to return to power in 2019.
“We hope this decision will go down well with women, as it not only guarantees monetary benefits but also social security for them,” a BJP general secretary said.
The BJP leaders believe women tend to vote for a party taking reformist measures.
“Our state governments have taken many such steps, such as reservation for women in panchayats. The decision of the Jharkhand government will strengthen our case,” the BJP office-bearer said.
