Withdraw hike in registration fees, YSRC: July 26,2012

Hyderabad, July 26: YSRC has demanded the State Government to withdraw the hike in registration fees forthwith and call for an all-party meeting for revaluation of land and buildings and demanded the State to own up the burden of surcharge on power tariff instead of passing it on to the people.

“The Government has been active in imposing taxes and increasing fares and tariff and is playing a proactive role in avenues of revenue but is dragging its feet in implementing welfare schemes and owning up responsibility--the hike in registration charges being latest anti-people move,” party spokesperson Gattu Ramachandra Rao told reporters here on Thursday.

The increase in registration fee is an unwarranted load on the already burdened common man who is bearing the brunt of hike in power charges, RTC fares, essential commodities, fertilizers and seeds. The government is eager to impose taxes and increase prices but it has never shown interest in implementing welfare schemes, he said.

The registration fee for marriage is increased from Rs 5 to Rs 200 and the fees went up on Encumbrance Certificate (EC), Partnership, sale, pawn, gift deeds, GPA and other documents which will burden the people, he said and such anti-people measures should be reversed.

The revaluation of land and buildings should be put on hold or at least an all-party meeting should be convened if the decision is inevitable. Such decisions should not be unilateral and all parties should be taken into confidence, he said.

The third demand, he said, is the Rs 15,500 crore burden on the people in the form of surcharge on power tariff should be borne by the State government.

Though a decision was taken in 2005-06 when Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy was Chief Minister to net Rs 2,000 crores through registration charges, he had never burdened the common man nor did he impose any new taxes. The present governance is totally in contrast, it has the inclination to impose new taxes to swell its revenue but never bothers about welfare schemes, he said.

The State government has been generous on the bidders for Polavaram Project and has accepted the cost escalation of Rs 500 crores in just nine months and at the same time, it has no feeling to carry out the fee reimbursement and other welfare schemes, he said.