GHAZIABAD: A notification on circle rate 2018-19 will be issued by the end of this month as the district administration has concluded the exercise and once again, authorities have not proposed hike in the circle rate. This is on account of slump in real estate sector, which is still picking up.“The circle rate that we have proposed to the government is more or less similar to previous year as we have not suggested any hike,” said Mewa Lal Patel, AIG Stamps, Ghaziabad . “But in certain areas, we have suggested some corrections to end anomalies as we felt that circle rates in these areas were not in consonance with market rates, which was deterring potential buyers” added Patel.Patel attributed reason for keeping circle rates unchanged for the year 2018-19 to slump in real estate sector, though he said that an analysis of sale deed executed in 2017-18 showed that real estate was on a path to recovery. “In 2016-17, a total of 56,151 sale deeds were executed in Ghaziabad but in 2017-18, it went up to 65,508 which clearly suggests real estate is on a recovery path,” said Patel.In 2016-17, stamps and registration department were given a target of Rs 1617.7 crore, but it achieved only Rs 1014.45 crore. Same target was set in the year 2017-18 and it has improved this time and was able to collect Rs 1224.33 crore. “This is another indicator that the market is improving and to keep the momentum going, it is all the more necessary that circle rate, which is already high in Ghaziabad, is not further hiked,” said Patel.The industry has also welcomed department’s recommendation of not hiking circle rates. CREDAI general secretary Gaurav Gupta said they had hoped that circle rate would actually be slashed, but even the decision of not hiking it will go a long way in restoring balance in real estate sector, which had gone awry due to skewed circle rates."Circle rates should be reduced so that buying property is accessible to the common man. However, The administration has decided not to reduce the circle charges because they do not want the farmers to face losses in compensation. Therefore, the administration reduced smart facilities and reduced surcharge on normal facilities. This will reduce the purchase cost for home buyers in the housing project" said Gupta.

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