KARACHI: The Sindh government has, in principle, agreed to regulate the real estate business in Karachi which will help eliminate fake real estate agencies which are cheating the public.

This decision was taken during a meeting between a delegation of the All-Karachi Realtors Association, led by its chairman, S.M. Irfan, and Sindh Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani and Revenue Minister Makhdoom Mehboobuz Zaman and officers concerned here recently.

Talking to Dawn, the minister said that the government had already started one-window operation to help owners of plots of 66 to 399 square yards to get their building designs approved.

He said the government had given them an assurance that the revenue department would also get all records of land computerised to help the people through online service within a month.

It was also suggested that the rules to be framed should make it obligatory on the part of realtors to get their real estate transaction registered with the government. It would help generate revenue for the government on the actual price of transaction.

And tax, at present charged three per cent by the federal government and 7pc by the provincial government, would be slashed to 1pc.

Responding to the suggestion, the minister told the delegation that as far as the Sindh government was concerned, they would put their proposal before the chief minister to reduce the tax from 7pc to 1pc. But the issue of reducing 3pc federal tax on transaction price of the property was related to the federal government and this matter would have to be taken up with the Centre.

The delegation, which initially called on Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, was directed to see the ministers to sort out the issues being faced by the realtors.

They requested the government to make the affair of mutation a one-window operation for people’s convenience.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2019