Property registrations have plunged after the model code of conduct for the April 6 state assembly election came into force, with sub-registrar offices in the city and its peripheries reporting a significant drop on Monday compared to last month.
Revenue through property registrations was facing a deficit of Rs 809 crore in 2020-21 over 2019-20. February 2021 recorded a revenue of Rs 1,386.6 crore, the highest in the past 11 months.
Registration department data shows that the Selaiyur sub-registrar office, under Chennai South, barely had 60 registrations against a daily average of 300. Of this, only 10 were land registrations. The office at Red Hills, under Chennai North, had just 65 registrations on Monday against a daily average of 120-140.
“Most of the documents registered pertained to memorandums of deposit of title deeds, gift deeds and settlement deeds,” an official said.
People with more than Rs 50,000 in cash must show receipts for the source of money when stopped by surveillance teams of the Election Commission of India. Unaccounted money would be seized.
From April 2020 to February 2021, property registrations netted revenue of Rs 9,313 crore, a decrease of Rs 809 crore over the Rs 10,122 crore netted from April 2019 to February 2020. But, the registration department remains hopeful that Rs 900 crore will be generated in March. “Revenue will reach Rs 10,200 crore by the end of 2020-21,” a senior official said. The contribution of Chennai zone, comprising the city, Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts, to the TN’s total revenue fell by 9% this year from the average of 44%.
