Price hike for commercial properties in Ghaziabad

On 11 March, The GDA announced that there would be an increase in the reserve price of its commercial properties by Rs 8,700 per square metre to compensate for unforeseen expenses associated with the construction of EWS flats. An official reported that this proposal was discussed during a GDA Board meeting chaired by Divisional Commissioner Selva Kumari J and was subsequently approved after thorough consideration. The reserve price, which is the minimum selling price for properties, varies depending on the location. Previously, the reserve price for GDA's commercial properties in Indirapuram stood at Rs 150,000 per square metre. Following the adjustment, it will rise to Rs 158,700 per square metre. Similarly, in Pratap Vihar, the reserve price was Rs 48,000 per square metre, which will now increase to Rs 56,700 per square metre. The revised reserve price in the Madhuban Bapudham housing scheme will be Rs 84,300 per square metre. The official explained that the price hike was necessitated by the need for the authority to raise Rs 271 million to cover the additional costs incurred during the construction of EWS flats in 2010. According to the official, GDA constructed 348 EWS flats in Pratap Vihar's Sector 11 and 560 units in Rajendra Nagar's Sector 2. While the state government was supposed to share a portion of the construction costs as per the agreement, these costs escalated over the years, leaving GDA responsible for covering the additional expenses, estimated to be Rs 27.1 crore. The official further stated that GDA plans to recoup these costs through increased commercial property prices. The authority still has 31,500 square metres of commercial properties awaiting sale. During Monday's meeting, the GDA Board also approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and layout plan of Wave City, which was developed under the state's hi-tech township policy. This approval means that approximately 5,000 homebuyers can proceed with their flat registrations. The official noted that a high-powered committee of the UP government, established to address the matter, recommended on 31 January to approve the revised DPR. Consequently, following the committee's recommendation, the GDA Board sanctioned the DPR. The issue traces back to 2009-10 when the UP government designated around 8,700 acres of land along NH-9 for the hi-tech township policy. In 2017, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) raised concerns about GDA's concessions to two developers, including the Wave Group. According to the CAG's estimates, these concessions resulted in a loss of Rs 5.72 billion to the exchequer, with Rs 4.01 billion attributed to dues owed by the Wave Group.