Auditors Unearthed 112 Cases of Property Under Evaluation in Ernakulam

Property Valuation Puzzle in Ernakulam — Auditors exposed 112 cases of undervaluation in a surprising twist. Explore the mystery!

Auditors in Ernakulam have recently exposed a startling 112 property cases under evaluation that were registered over the past two years. The audit report, released this month, gives a clear picture of property registrations from January 2022 to December 2023, throwing light on the situation of real estate valuation.

According to the officials, approximately six real estate properties registered in the year 2022 were subjected to evaluation because the valuers failed to add to the cost inflation index, neglecting to bring the property's value up to the current market rate during the transfer process.

Earlier, the officials also had several under-evaluated property cases in the other sub-registrar offices of Ernakulam. 

The blame for undervalued properties often lands on the shoulders of the registration officials. However, this investigation has shown that the root cause lies elsewhere.

A registration official stated, "The auditor has realised that the undervaluation of the buildings is caused by the valuer and not the registration officials. The sub-registrar's responsibility is to check the document coming before him/her. The field study is conducted by the valuer. All these years, sub-registrars were blamed for the under-evaluation of buildings and loss of revenue. It is up to the government to fix the irregularity in this."

This revelation prompts a critical need for Ernakulam's real estate valuation process and a more stringent oversight of valuers and their methodologies.