The Chhattisgarh government on Monday (December 9, 2025) amended the provisions of a recent order on land valuations after it triggered a major backlash over new guideline rates.
A guideline rate is the minimum value set by the State government for property registration. In the latest order, the government has revised some provisions in the earlier one while agreeing to “review objections “ to others, crucially, the one on increased guidelines rates.
On November 19, the government had announced that it had undertaken a “comprehensive, scientific and rational revision of guideline rates across the state”. This included several provisions on guideline rates and value calculations, which people objected to. The most contentious among them remains an increase in guideline rates by around 20% in urban areas and by 50% to 300% in rural areas.
Fears that such a move would invite a huge spike in land costs due to a proportionate increase in registration fees and stamp duty, especially for those planning to build homes, invited backlash. The objections came from not just stakeholders such as land owners and others engaged in real estate and the Opposition Congress, but also one of the ruling BJP’s own, Raipur MP Brijmohan Agrawal. There were objections to other provisions, too, some of which have been changed in the announcements made on Monday.
The government’s own rationale on guideline rates was that it had not long been revised, and the decision was taken keeping farmers’ interests at the forefront, as it would enable farmers to receive up to three times higher compensation in land acquisition. It had then said that the revised rates would allow farmers and landowners to obtain fair and higher compensation, secure larger bank loans against property, and easily understand the market value of their holdings. These rates, said the government, had not been revised since 2017-18. Finance Minister OP Choudhary had said the entire revision exercise was made scientific, transparent and citizen-friendly.
However, in his letter to Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on December 2, Mr. Agrawal wrote that “In the State, without any public consultation, without any real assessment and without reviewing the socio-economic impact, there has been an unheard of, unplanned increase in the collector guideline rates ranging from 100% to 800-900%”. He wrote that he had received adverse feedback from thousands of farmers and small businessmen.
Speaking to journalists on Monday (December 8, 2025) afternoon, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai acknowledged that there were some concerns about the guideline rates and said that a good government was one that “occasionally amends some of its decisions in public interest”.
“See, in a democracy, the people are everything; the greatest power lies in their hands, and the government makes rules and regulations for their well-being. A lot of hard work is put into making rules and regulations, and every relevant group is consulted, and only then are any rules and regulations enacted. A good government is one that occasionally amends its decisions in the public interest. Certainly, there are some concerns regarding the guideline rates; they are being reviewed, and discussions are being held with those concerned. If necessary, we will certainly make the necessary amendments,” he said.
This was followed by a press conference by Mr. Choudhary where he explained the recent revisions in detail.
A State government press release shared in the evening noted: “The Central Valuation Board has directed district valuation committees to review objections, petitions and suggestions that are received after the recent rate revisions. Based on the review, the committees have been directed to submit proposals for further revision of the guideline rates by December 31. These proposals will be examined before finalizing the revised guideline rates.
The release also mentioned changes in provisions made in the earlier guideline order, such as discontinuing the existing incremental method for calculating the value of plots up to 1400 sq metres in urban areas and withdrawing the provision of calculating market value based on super built-up area for transfer of flats, shops and offices in multi-storey buildings.
While it said that these measures will provide relief to the people, the Congress has said that there was no change in the guideline rates and it would continue to protest.
“Where has the guideline rate been corrected yet? As I said, the government had to amend the guideline rate order. But this amendment is superficial and provides little relief to the public. In fact, the guideline rates haven’t been improved yet. A forced rule has simply been withdrawn. A few other changes have been made, but they aren’t very effective. Unless the unreasonably increased guideline rates are corrected, nothing will be accomplished. The property tax burden on the public appears to remain. The government will have to make further amendments. And it will be forced to do so, keep this in mind,” wrote senior Congress leader and ex-Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on X.
Published – December 09, 2025 01:00 am IST
