Ghaziabad: UP govt has further reduced development and building permit fees in several districts, including Ghaziabad. In Jan, the development fee in Ghaziabad was raised from Rs 2,500 per sqm to Rs 4,170 per sqm. Under the new order, it has now been marginally cut to Rs 4,165 per sqm.In Jan, Ghaziabad saw the highest hike, at over 66% increase. Even with the recent decrease, the city still has the highest development fee in the state.According to a GDA official, the fee has been slashed to Rs 1,450 per sqm from the previous Rs 1,510 per sqm in Loni, Muradnagar and Modinagar.As per the new rates, the fee is down to Rs 2,462 per sqm in Lucknow, Kanpur and Agra, while it is set at Rs 1,510 per sqm in Varanasi, Prayagraj and Moradabad. In the rest of the districts, the fee has been slashed to around Rs 1,020 per sqm to Rs 603 per sqm.In case of residential plots up to 100 sqm and commercial plots up to 30 sqm, it has been slashed by 50%.“Ghaziabad was assessed to have the highest growth potential, compared to other areas under development authorities. With Namo Bharat, metro, airport and a network of highways in the vicinity of Ghaziabad, the state govt, through the development fee, intends to cash in on it, and in turn the revenue generation will only add to enhanced civic infrastructure,” said the official.Development fee is a major source of revenue for all development authorities, which they charge in lieu of civic amenities. Under all revenue generation heads, the development fee alone accounted for the highest revenue generation for GDA in FY 2024-25.“There is some respite for small plot owners and developers under the residential and commercial category, but for big developers the lowering rate is very nominal and overall it won’t make much of a difference,” said Ratnesh Goyal, a developer.
