PATNA, Dec. 4 -- After a gap of several years, the state government was working on the proposal to increase the minimum value register( MVR) or circle rates of urban and rural land in a bid to earn high revenue as well as check the disparity between market and government rate of land, officials said. There is all likelihood a proposal to increase the MVR of urban and rural land holdings as per the category of land would be sent to the cabinet by next couple of months for approval. "Work is in progress for enhancing the MVR rates. All would depend on whether the cabinet gives its approval to it. A proposal to this effect would be sent to the cabinet by next month tentatively," said an official in the prohibition, excise and registration department. The MVR rates in Bihar were last revised in 2013 for rural land holdings and in 2016 for urban land holdings, which had lessened the gap between market rate of land and government rate for registration to a large extent, paving the way for higher revenue to the state coffers. The revision, however, had come under criticism from realtors and rural populace who had complained that the revised circle rates for certain categories of land were higher than the market rates, forcing property buyers to shell out higher sums of money in registration of land. This is considered one of the prime reasons why the state government has not been keen on revising the MVR on a regular basis in last 10 years . "There is a need for a comprehensive revision of the MVR in urban and rural areas as it's almost a decade now when the last MVR was done for urban areas while over 10 years for rural areas. A lot of infrastructure projects, highways and hospitals have come up in and around satellite townships and semi-rural areas. So, the market rate of land has gone up while the registration of land is still going on in the old rates. That is one reason why MVR has to be revised," said another registration department officer. There are indications the government would be putting different slabs of MVR for urban land holdings, peripheral land holdings ( land near urban townships), rural land holdings including agricultural land and industrial land based on the market rate of land, after getting reports from districts and sub-registration officers. Officials claimed the new MVR , if approved, would go a long way in checking the black money involved in real estate deals and also increase the state's revenue. In the state capital, the rates of flats have gone up drastically in recent years, varying from Rs.4,500 to Rs.9,000 per square feet depending on the amenities, size and location. Sources said the revised MVR, if approved, would be effective from 1 April, 2026. Evidently, the registration department is one of the highest revenue generating departments with this fiscal's annual revenue target standing at Rs.8,250 crore whereas in 2024-25, the revenue target stood at Rs.7,600 crore. Meanwhile, excise commissioner-cum-inspector general of registration, Anshul Agarwal said, "The state cabinet would have to approve. Only then, we can say anything on it."...