The Stamp and Registration department is an unlikely place to offer much joy. However, Yogendra Pratap Singh was ecstatic as Ayodhya topped Uttar Pradesh’s revenue receipt for November in terms of percentage hike among all the 75 districts, at 109.19%. “The major part of revenue comes from land registration in the district, primarily from the Sadar region,” said Mr. Singh, the assistant commissioner, Stamp and Registration department, Ayodhya.
As the grand Ram temple in the city nears completion, and the consecration ceremony of lord Ram’s idol at the sanctum sanctorum scheduled for January 22, the once-sleepy Sadar area and its surroundings (15-km radius) are witnessing a surge in land prices. “Outside the 3-km radius of the temple, the rate ranges from ₹3,000 to ₹15,000 per square feet; within this radius, even one biswa (a term in the Awadh region connoting 1,360 square feet) is gold dust. It may even go up to ₹25,000 per square feet, if available,” Vipnesh Pandey, who runs Maa Vaisnavi Developers in the city, said.
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