"Highly condemnable": Union Minister Pralhad Joshi slams Siddaramaiah's govt over increased registration charges for property

Hubballi (Karnataka) [India], September 1 (ANI): Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi slammed Siddaramaiah's Karnataka government over increased registration charges for properties. Joshi calls this move "highly condemnable" and sought the withdrawal of this hike.
Speaking to the reporters on Sunday, the Union Minister said, "They have increased the registration charge for the properties. Earlier, they had increased the stamp duty prices. They have now increased the registration fee. They have doubled it. In the last two years, they have increased VAT on petrol and diesel twice."
He further added that Siddaramaiah's government has also previously increased the fee for vehicle registration and the charges for birth and death certificates, as well as other governmental charges.
"This is because they are claiming that we want to adjust the funds for the guarantee. First of all, to some extent, they are providing a guarantee only of free bus, otherwise...they are not properly providing it. Overall...bus accidents have increased. Students are facing problems because they don't have a bus. They don't have the money to refill the diesel. This is the situation," Joshi said.

Moreover, Joshi further stated that under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the PM Modi government is providing 5kg of rice per person every month, but Siddaramaiah's government claims that the Karnataka government is providing them 5kg of rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme.
"We are giving Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana; every month, 5kg per person, we are giving rice, which means the PM Modi government is giving this rice, but the shameless Siddaramaiah government claims that it is Anna Bhagya of the Karnataka government. It means the guarantee is poorly or not implemented, but prices have been continuously increased, registration charges doubled, and this is highly condemnable. They should withdraw it immediately," Joshi said.
The Union Minister also said that, apart from this, corruption has increased in the Tehsildar office, Sub-registrar office, RTO office, police station, and sales tax office. "It is so rampant that you can't even imagine," he added.
Meanwhile, buying or registering property in Karnataka has become more expensive as of yesterday, as the State government has decided to double the registration fee. The fee, which was earlier 1% of the property value, will now be 2%.
The row began after the CAG report, tabled in the Karnataka Assembly, revealed that the state government had borrowed nearly Rs 63,000 crore during 2023-24 to fund its guarantee schemes.
The report also noted that capital expenditure on infrastructure fell by Rs 5,229 crore compared to the previous year, with funds being diverted to guarantees. According to the report, 15 per cent of the borrowings were allocated to the five flagship guarantees, including Rs 16,964 crore for the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme, Rs 8,900 crore for the Gruha Jyothi Scheme, Rs 7,384 crore for Anna Bhagya, Rs 3,200 crore for the Shakti scheme, and Rs 88 crore for Yuva Nidhi.
The fiscal deficit has risen from Rs 46,623 crore to Rs 65,522 crore, an increase of Rs 37,000 crore over the net debt. (ANI)