GHAZIABAD: A panel under the housing and urban planning principal secretary has been formed to determine whether residents of Hi-Tech townships will have to pay tax to corporations.
The policy’s terms exempt the townships from house, water and sewer taxes either for seven years from the start of construction or till handover of the units, whichever is earlier. Wave City and Suncity are Hi-tech township licencees in Ghaziabad.
Last Nov, GMC served notices to residents. The corporation argues the seven-year period has lapsed and people have moved into the townships, even though they are incomplete. The developers objected to the corporation move.
“The seven-year moratorium is long over and nearly 10,000 people are already living in the two townships — both partially complete — and GMC is providing services. After the developers challenged GMC’s decision to levy tax on the townships, mayor Sunita Dayal wrote to govt,” municipal commissioner Vikramaditya Singh Malik told TOI.
Subsequently, the high-powered committee, also comprising the district magistrates and municipal commissioners of Ghaziabad and Lucknow, was set up to decide if Hi-Tech city projects would come under tax ambit, he said. Civic officials said GMC calculates taxes based on the annual rental value of a property — between 33.5% and 75% of the annual rental value.
Under the Hi-Tech township policy, the state govt had in 2005 notified 8,700 acres spread across 18 villages along NH-9 in Ghaziabad. Wave and Suncity were to construct 2 lakh dwelling units. Wave was supposed to acquire 4,400 acres and Suncity 4,312 acres.
However, due to various reasons, including farmers’ reluctance to part with their land, acquisition took time. Suncity could acquire only around 25% of the land.
A spokesperson for the Hi-Tech Township developers told TOI they will accept the decision of the high-powered panel. “Apart from Ghaziabad, residential projects under the Hi-Tech Township policy have come up in other districts as well. So, this is not the issue of Ghaziabad alone, but of the entire state,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Wave Group said they are in principle not opposed to GMC demanding taxes. “But so far, we are managing civic amenities in the township — be it road, streetlight, etc. If the municipal corporation steps in, it will lead to a cost escalation for residents. We will accept the high-powered panel’s decision,” the spokesperson said. In 2023, govt rolled out the New Township Policy that is set to provide developers relief in the form of a reduction in the conversion fee for land use.
