UP housing board to raise property rates

LUCKNOW: New houses and plots offered by the UP Housing and Development Board (UPHDB) in Ghaziabad and Loni may cost nearly 20% more with the state government agency planning to jack up prices in the new financial year.

An internal committee of the board has recommended a raise of 5%-25% in the land cost in various schemes across Uttar Pradesh. This will lead to an increase of 10%-16% in case of a majority of housing board properties. But for areas around Delhi, the rise could be more, sources said.

A proposal for increase is ready and likely to be placed before the housing commissioner next week. Housing Board secretary J B Singh said it was a preliminary recommendation which was yet to get the government's final nod.

"The market prices have seen an upward trend in recent times. This called for a technical examination of the properties owned by the board," said a senior housing board official.

The move comes a year after the last hike of 15%-16%. Private developers have jacked up rates manifold in this period. In Ghaziabad and Noida, residential property prices have nearly doubled in the last 12-18 months. The UP Housing Board had earlier sold properties in Vasundhara and Indirapuram. Siddharth Vihar in Loni is coming up now.

Plots and the semi-finished houses directly offered by the board have already been sold out. So, the effect would largely be seen on apartments which are constructed and sold by private builders under the scheme.

In Lucknow, the prices of plots and houses in the operational housing projects like Vrindavan housing scheme on Rae Bareli Road will escalate between 10% and 16%, JB Singh said.

The prices of apartments in UPHDB schemes range between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,500 per sq/ft. It is this segment which would see its prices spiraling when the hiked rates come into effect. Significantly, it was this segment alone which was hit by farmers stir which demanded higher compensation for their land.