Going by these affidavits, buying a flat barely 500 m away from India Gate, on Prithiviraj Road — arguably one of the most coveted addresses in the city – won’t burn a hole in your pocket. You can own a 1,054 sq ft flat on Prithiviraj Road for a mere Rs 15 lakh.
Even better, if you want to live amid nature, you can buy a 1,008 sq yard farmhouse in Sainik Farms for just Rs 15 lakh or a 4.6 acre plush farmhouse in Mehrauli for no more than Rs 9.86 lakh.
Moving to north Delhi, a 2,300 sq ft duplex in the posh Oberoi Terrace in the Civil Lines area is estimated at Rs 60 lakh, while the value of a bungalow spread over 214 sq m on Babar Road near Bengali market is pegged at Rs 1.18 crore. Both these are owned by former union minister Vijay Goel, who is the BJP candidate from New Delhi. The value of his assets is based on his affidavit while filing his nomination papers.
If these rates are true, the real estate market must have nosedived so sharply that even the circle rate of land determined by the Delhi government, which is the minimum value taken into consideration for registration of property, is way above these rates. There are some notable exceptions, though. A 1,100 sq ft plot in the dingy by lanes of Sangam Vihar has been estimated at Rs 2 crore, way above more commodious living quarters on Prithviraj Road, Babar Road, and Civil Lines.
Ramesh Bidhuri, the BJP candidate from South Delhi and the owner of the Sangam Vihar property said he advocated “complete openness” and this had prompted him to quote the value of his assets on the basis of the prevailing market rate and not the circle rate.
“It is because of people who misdeclare their assets that the masses have stopped trusting politicians. For example, Rahul has quoted the value of the farmhouse at Rs 10 lakh. I am willing to offer Rs 10 crore for the property if he is willing to sell,” Bidhuri said.
Bidhuri targets Aggarwal, the Delhi Congress chief, as the latter’s affidavit to the Election Commission filed on Saturday — he is contesting from Northeast Delhi — had valued his 650 sq ft (approximately 60 sq m) Green Park flat at Rs 10 lakh and a 1,054 sq ft flat (approximately 97 sq m) on Prithviraj Road at Rs 15 lakh. At the government-fixed circle rates, the Green Park flat should have been valued at Rs 25.8 lakh (circle rate Rs 43,000 per sq m) and the one on Prithviraj Road at Rs 41.7 lakh (circle rate also Rs 43,000 per sq m). And that is still way below the prevailing market price.
Aggarwal admitted this when he said the value of his property was assessed on the basis of government-declared rates, which is less than the prevailing market prices. When it was pointed out that this value went below the circle rate, he said, “You might be right. I have no idea. The value of the properties has been assessed by my lawyer.”
Rahul Gandhi, who has filed his nomination from the Amethi parliamentary constituency, said in his affidavit that he owns a 4.6 acre (18,617 sq m) farmhouse property in Mehrauli valued at Rs 9.86 lakh.
Going by the most conservative circle rate of Rs 6,900 per sq m fixed by the government for the village land, this property should be worth nearly Rs 13 crore. This rate was fixed by the government in 2007, which is valid for five years.
The Indira Gandhi farmhouse at Mehrauli is spread over about 9 acres in which Rahul Gandhi has a share of 4.6 acres.
An estate agent, while refusing to put a value on this farmhouse, said in the Sultanpur area a short distance away, farmhouses were on sale at Rs 15 crore an acre. A five-acre farm would sell for about Rs 75 crore in Sultanpur.
Are the property values given by candidates in their affidavits to the Election Commission (EC) in order? The EC demands that the current market value — and not the circle rate or the original price of the property when it was purchased — should be quoted in the affidavit.
“The facts about value of assets should be verified by experts. Since declaration is in the form of an affidavit, it is actionable if it is found to be false,” said Justice J. S. Verma, former chief justice of India.
But aspiring MPs have opted for the Delhi government circle rate to determine the value of their property. BJP’s Vijay Goel is also among them.
Ajay Digpaul, Goel’s lawyer who prepared the former minister’s nomination papers, said, “The value of the property to be quoted in an affidavit has to be according to the government fixed rates.
We have determined the value of Vijay Goel’s property on the basis of the prevailing circle rates. There might be a slight variation but that is it.” Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s son and East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit’s affidavit values his only property at a very modest Rs 3.42 lakh. He owns a 200 sq ft (about 18 sq m) area in Nizamuddin in south Delhi where the circle rate is Rs 34,100 per sq m.
A real estate expert quoted the circle rate and pegged the value of the property at about Rs 6.2 lakh. The market price of the property is said to be between Rs 15 and 20 lakh, he said.
Union science and technology minister Kapil Sibal, in his affidavit filed with the returning officer, said his Maharani Bagh house spread over 480 sq m is worth Rs 2.2 crore. Going by the circle rate, the value of the property comes to about Rs 3.5 crore — separately adding up the land value (about Rs 2 crore) and the value of the built-up area (about Rs 1.5 crore).
However, in the case of his New Friends’ Colony home, Sibal valued the property at Rs 6.27 crore, which is well about the circle rate.
The land value of the approximately 431 sq m plot is Rs 1.8 crore and the built-up area about 1.5 crore, adding up to Rs 3.3 crore.
