I am writing to express my deep concern over what appears to be a masterstroke for the 2027 elections, rather than a genuine effort towards governance. The recent moves to empower the state to capture properties and land without heirs or presumably abandoned, only to sell them to builders (often election sponsors), legalizing houses built prior to 1972 on batkar lands and those built prior to 2014 on government land seems designed to create an opportunity for vote bank politics. This approach sidelines crucial governance issues like quality infrastructure, law and order, and a good standard of living. These programmes represent the lowest form of politics, a slap in the face to honest taxpayers who have purchased properties and paid the government in the form of stamp duty and registration fees. For instance, on a Rs 75,000 per square metre property (100 square metres), one pays Rs 4,12,500 (5.5 per cent of Rs 75,00,000). Do we think this compensates for occupancy fees? Instead, it will only fuel corruption.
