When an IAS retirement officer appeared to conclude a 14 -crusal agricultural land agreement, only a fraction of money crossed the official canals. The rest – an astonishing crore of 10.5 ₹ – changed cash in cash, counted for hours inside a bank with a silent complicity. This was not an isolated case. Despite years of repression, the real estate sector of India – in particular land transactions – remains a paradise for black money. From ownership of Benami to underestimated sales values, gaps in the system continue to allow massive cash transactions protected by a tax exam.
A Reddit post recently rekindled the conversation around black money in Indian real estate, in particular in agricultural land transactions. “The amount of black money in agricultural land offers is astounding,” wrote a user, sharing a first -hand account which quickly became viral.
“So recently, I participated in a land agreement … The other party was an IAS retirement officer who was assigned as a collector of our district. (The land was bought 2 decades ago while he was used). This land was of course in the name of a cousin Benami,” the user wrote. The agreement was set at 14 sterling books, but only 3.5 crores were transferred via bank accounts. The remaining 10.5 ₹ crore was paid in cash – counted more than five hours in private banking using three machines to count in cash, while the bank director has made a small conversation.
“As I was an aspiring CSE UPSC before, I was very afraid of how these people manipulated money,” added the user. “They left, I think a few lasts for the bank and carried the rest in their car. My father described them as “cheetha” for counting each gaddi … I was shocked to know that there are almost 75 to 80% of black money in land agreements. “
The position attracted hundreds of reactions, many echoing similar experiences across India.
“What else did you expect?” replied a user. “In real estate and especially land, an unwritten rule almost everywhere in India is: you pay the rate of a circle in white, rest in cash / black … IAS or not, the situation is the same.”
Another shared: “In level 2 cities … in agricultural land, that [white component] could be as low as 5%. I saw land agreements much higher than 14 CR in which the amount of the check was 7 to 7.5%, resting in cash. »»
A third added: “Around Hyd, there are land where the ratio is 97: 3 … a land of 1 CR could have an accounting value of only 3 lakhs.”
And a fourth summed up the feeling: “This is why black money will never disappear from India. Never … it’s a win-win situation for both parties.”
