Duty slash for women homebuyers

Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday took another step to empower women ahead of next year's panchayat polls by reducing the rate of property registration stamp duty for them by one percentage point. From now, women will have to pay only four per cent stamp duty while registering a house/flat or land in their name. Till now, the stamp duty was fixed at five per cent for both men and women. Women will have to pay stamp duty at the new rate even if they get a property as a gift or inheritance. The decision seems to have struck a chord with women here. Madhumita Pradhan, 32, an administrative officer in a private company, said: "It is a welcome move by Naveen Patnaik. One percentage point reduction in stamp duty will motivate us to buy land. For middle and lower-middle class families, even a relaxation of Rs 1,000 on a property worth lakhs is a great relief as most people take loans to buy properties." This is the second major announcement by the Naveen government for women empowerment. On September 3, the state government had launched the Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana on a pilot basis in three districts - Angul, Dhenkanal and Ganjam, aimed at ensuring overall development of the girl child across the state. As part of the scheme, women and child development department will mobilise the women's community and all stake holders to ensure safe birth, survival and development of the girl child. BJD women's wing president and former women and child development minister Pramilla Mallick said: "Naveen Patnaik is committed to the development of women. Bijubabu had introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in the three-tier panchayati raj system. It was Naveen babu who had extended the reservation to 50 per cent in the panchayati raj system so that women are socially empowered to deal with various issues." She added that this move was made by the government to empower the economically weak women. "It will also end discrimination against the women," she said. Women and child development minister Usha Devi said: "The move is highly appreciable. No other chief minister has done for the women what Naveen Patnaik has done." She further said that the Odisha government had already introduced the State Policy for Girl and Women, 2014. The focus area of the policy are survival, health and nutrition, education, livelihood, asset ownership, decision making, participation and political representation, safety, security and protection of women and girls. Another important initiative being implemented by the state government for women's empowerment is Mission Shakti. About 3.87 lakh women's self-help groups are working in the programme, while 46 lakh women are involved. However, the state government is yet to make an estimate of the financial burden it will have to bear on account of the implementation of the stamp duty reduction. "The scheme was announced today. Only at the end of the financial year, we will be able to know whether the state suffers financial loss or gain because of the scheme," said a senior official of finance department. In the last fiscal, the government had collected stamp duty and registration fee worth Rs 795.13crore.