Getting a rent agreement or an affidavit has become a gruelling task for Patna people.

The state capital is witnessing an acute shortage of non-judicial stamps, especially of lower denominations (Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100), which has made it difficult for people to get legal authorisation on agreements and affidavits.

Residents are now forced to either purchase stamps from the black market or buy higher denomination stamp such as Rs 500, which are readily available with the vendors.

A man, who works as an agent at the collectorate, agreed there is a shortage of non-judicial stamps, particularly that of Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100 for the past two months. He, however, claimed that the crisis has been created by the officials and vendors to make more money.

“This is an artificial shortage created by the treasury office staff and vendors to harass buyers and force them to pay more,” he said.

The Telegraph visited the collectorate on Tuesday to get a first-hand experience the problems being faced by the people. Posing as a buyer, this correspondent approached at least six vendors, seeking a stamp of Rs 20.

All the vendors had the same answer that stamps below Rs 500 are not available. When asked why, they refused to give any reason for the shortage of the stamps. “Non-judicial stamps are available in the denominations of Rs 500, Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000,” one vendor said.

Santosh Kumar, a resident of Mahatma Gandhi Nagar in Kankerbagh, said: “Today is the third day I have come here to purchase a non-judicial stamp worth Rs 100 for a rent agreement. Everyday, the vendors tell me to come tomorrow.”

Rakesh Kumar, a contractor, echoed Santosh’s misery. “I wanted a stamp of Rs 100. But that is not available at any vendor’s shop. A tout asked me to pay Rs 250 for a Rs 100 stamp. Now, I will have to buy the stamp after paying extra.”

Ramakant Prasad Verma, a lawyer at Patna Civil Court, said: “I needed non-judicial stamp of Rs 50 but since it was not available, I had to pay ten times more and purchase a Rs 500 stamp to get my work done.”

Explaining the reasons for the huge demand of stamp of Rs 20 and Rs 100, Verma said Rs 100 is required for entering any kind of agreement whereas some affidavits need a stamp of Rs 20.

“Non-judicial stamps are required for authorisation of any agreement, affidavit (not all kind of affidavits), land and flat registration,” he said, adding: “That’s why an artificial shortage has been created by the treasury office staff in connivance with the vendors to make money.”

A treasury official, preferring anonymity, admitted that the stamp crisis is “artificial”.

When reached for a comment, Patna treasury officer Rajesh Kumar denied any shortage of non-judicial stamps. “There was a crisis a month ago because of printing problem, but that has been resolved. Now, non-judicial stamps are available in the collectorate and courts,” he said.

The treasury officer, however, suggested that a franking machine can solve the problem of non-judicial stamp crisis as well as curb black marketing with ease.

A franking machine prints stamp papers of various denominations. A plan to install a franking machine was, in fact, was cleared by the authorities but matter got stuck in a legal tangle and is sub-judice at present.

Explaining the process of issuing non-judicial stamps to vendors, Kumar said: “We issue stamps twice a week — Tuesday and Friday — on the basis of demand made by the vendors. So the volume of non-judicial stamps may differ from time to time.”

On Tuesday (April 10), the treasury office issued stamps worth Rs 11 lakh. Stamps worth Rs 80 lakh were issued on a single day of March last when registry was at its peak, the officer said.

Police said they had not received any complaint about stamp black marketing yet.