Now is the time to buy property in Ghaziabad. In a concession to the recessionary trend, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has decided to freeze any further escalation in property prices from August.
After its 135th board meeting, GDA vice-chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav pointed out that property prices had been raised two and a half times in May 2012. Buyers also had to pay 22 per cent more — 12 per cent infrastructure fund and 10 per cent freehold charges — on transactions.
The board further passed a resolution to increase freehold charges. A new system will apply current rates, instead of calculating freehold charges on the basis of the rate at the time of registration of the property.
In other decisions, GDA has decided to stop the recently-introduced CNG-operated city bus service to cut expenditure, after incurring a loss of over `2.5 crore.
It also adopted new bylaws for public-private partnership bus stations being constructed by the State on a minimum plot of 4,000 square metres.
The board passed 18 other proposals, including increase in retirement age for employees of centralised and non-centralised services and employing four revenue clerks through a placement agency.