Guwahati, Sept. 19: The cash-strapped Assam government is planning to increase the rates of land revenue, a step it hopes will fetch an additional Rs 300 crore annually.

Revenue minister Mithius Tudu said re-assessment of land revenue rates was in progress and a Bill might be moved during the Assembly’s winter session. He said land revenue had been stagnant for several years and required to be enhanced.

The annual rates of land revenue vary from 60 paise per bigha to Rs 2.25 per bigha in rural areas, depending on the productivity of land. It is Rs 6 per bigha in respect of urban land. For land under tea cultivation, the rates are Rs 10 a bigha in the Barak Valley and Rs 15 per bigha in the Brahmaputra Valley.

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Tudu said in many urban areas, revenue was being collected at the rate of Rs 3 per bigha, as against the stipulated rate of Rs 6 per bigha. “Some rural areas have acquired the characteristics of urban land, but revenue is still collected at the rates fixed for rural land. The system needs to be rationalised,” he added.

Full report in Northeast