The Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda) has decided to increase the development fees by 20 times the current rates. Experts predict that this, along with higher jantri rates, will cause a significant spike in the cost of possessions in Auda areas outside of Ahmedabad city in the upcoming months.
A section of the media, citing real estate experts, has reported that the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority’s development charges are levied based on the area of land and the size of construction when a plan is given a go-ahead. Naturally, the hike in development charges will impact project costs, resulting in expensive properties. The new rates could be less than Rs 100 per sq m.
The report cited Section 99 of the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act 1976 which empowers local authorities to levy development charges on land and construction within their jurisdiction. According to Section 100 of this act, the maximum development charge can be fixed.
The state government would charge Rs 50,000 per hectare or Rs 5 per sq m of land and Rs 15 per sq m of construction, the media report said. At present, Auda charges Rs 2 to Rs 5 for land and Rs 5 to Rs 15 for construction. Depending on the nature of the construction, the development fee changes.
Auda CEO D P Desai was quoted as saying, “Before deciding on the new development charge, a proposal will be sent to the government to withdraw our old proposal. The new development charge proposal will be placed in the next board meeting.”
