GHAZIABAD — The Uttar Pradesh housing and urban planning department has introduced standardized rules for assessing, levying, and collecting various fees related to building permits, aiming to streamline the process and eliminate inconsistencies.
The new regulations, issued on Jan. 28, outline a framework for impact fees, development permit fees, building permit fees, and inspection fees collected during the approval of building maps, as published by Hindustan Times.
The guidelines are part of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development (Assessment, Levy, and Collection of Impact Fee) Rules of 2024 and the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development (Assessment, Levy, and Collection of Development Permit Fee, Building Permit Fee, and Inspection Fee) Rules of 2024.
The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) released the newly framed rules on Wednesday. Officials explained that an impact fee applies when a higher land use activity is proposed for an area with a lower designated land use. The regulations categorize land use into different activities, including transport, industrial, residential, office, and commercial.
The impact fee is determined using coefficient numbers assigned to various activities and calculated based on a formula incorporating plot area, circle rate, and an impact fee coefficient. The other set of rules defines the development permit fee based on different land areas and the building permit fee based on a per-square-meter rate for various land uses. The inspection fee has also been standardized using a similar method.
Previously, development authorities charged these fees without a standardized framework, drawing scrutiny from courts due to the lack of formal regulations. The introduction of uniform rates aims to prevent arbitrary charges and provide clarity for developers.
“The development permit fee, building permit fee, and inspection fee were already being charged, but without clearly defined rules. Now, all development authorities will follow a standardized structure,” a former GDA town planning official said on the condition of anonymity.
Senior GDA officials were unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts to reach them. However, Rudresh Shukla, the authority’s media coordinator, stated that officials would review the documents before making any statements.
Real estate developers welcomed the move, emphasizing that the absence of structured regulations had previously led to legal disputes.
“With standardized rates, authorities can no longer impose arbitrary charges on developers,” said Gaurav Gupta, secretary of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India’s NCR chapter.
The implementation of these rules is expected to bring transparency to the fee assessment process, ensure consistency across all development authorities in Uttar Pradesh, and put an end to confusion regarding ad hoc charges.