GDA receives 200 objections, suggestions on circle rate hike; decision delayed by a week

Ghaziabad Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Vivek Srivastava said that a tentative hike of 10 to 15 percent has been proposed. (Representative image)

The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has received around 200 objections and suggestions with regard to the proposed circle rate hike which was expected to come into force from August 8, officials told Moneycontrol.

The final decision on the circle rate hike will be taken only after disposal of all the objections and suggestions received from the public, they said.

According to Ghaziabad District Magistrate Rakesh Singh, the administration will now carefully examine every suggestion and if any of them is found bonafide, that can be incorporated to give shape to the final proposal. The final circle rates will come into effect only after that.

Read More: Pact signed to develop master plan for Dadri-Ghaziabad-Noida Investment Region

Ghaziabad Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Vivek Srivastava said a tentative hike of 10 to 15 percent has been proposed and a final decision will be taken only after disposal of all the objections and suggestions received from the public.

The administration had hiked the rate by 5-10 percent in 2016 across the district. According to officials, the rates were also increased randomly for some localities and the hike was somewhere between five and 20 percent. However, the rates could not be altered much in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.

Read More: NCR sees sales grow by 73% YoY in 2021; records sales of 40,050 housing units

In Kaushambi, the existing rates are between Rs 90,000 and Rs 99,000 per square metre; Rs 77,000-Rs 85,000 per sqm in Vaishali; Rs 76,000 to Rs 84,000 per sqm in Indirapuram and Rs 66,000 to Rs 73,000 per sqm in Vasundhara.

According to the officials, a rate hike this year is imminent as the city has undergone many infrastructural changes including Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS (to become operational in phases starting from 2023) and Delhi Metro that not only improved the connectivity but also resulted in urbanisation.

A circle rate is the minimum rate at which a property could be sold. This rate is also taken into consideration while registering properties. On the other hand, the rate at which GDA or Uttar Pradesh Housing Board sell properties is called sector rates.