Bhubaneswar, Jan. 30: Residents have expressed their unhappiness over the high price tag of the properties being sold by the development authority at Paikraipur on the outskirts of the city.

The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) began online registration for the housing projects on January 20, which will continue till the 20th of next month. Interested buyers can log onto the official website of BDA at www.bdabbsr.in and register to buy their desired property. There are 368 flats on offer at the two housing projects at Paikraipur I and II.

"The BDA says that it is selling houses mainly for the middle, high and low-income groups. But looking at the fixed prices, that statement seems like a joke to us," said Nayapalli resident Artatrana Padhi.

Padhi, who was interested in investing in a property at the site, also said: "How can a person from the low-income group afford even the minimum 1-BHK (bedroom-hall-kitchen) flat, which is listed at Rs 21 lakh?"

BDA officials, however, said buyers could get loans from banks such as State Bank of India, UCO Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank. "Land and construction costs are shooting up, so are the unit costs. Our costing committee has fixed the price and the prices are quite reasonable," said one official.

Truptimayee Panda, a bank employee, disagreed, especially with the cost of the 2-BHKs. "The 2-BHKs are mainly built for the middle-income groups, but spending more than Rs 30 lakh on a house is difficult for a person like me. I found the prices fixed by the authority too high," said Panda.

The housing project at Paikraipur-I has 64 2-BHKs, both Type-I and II, built over 1,259 and 1,297 square feet. Similarly, there are 160 1-BHK Type-I and II flats, standing over 808 and 804 square feet.

A 2-BHK Type-II flat is priced around Rs 33.99 lakh while a Type-I flat will cost Rs 32.53 lakh. Similarly, a Type-I 1-BHK flat will cost Rs 21.3 lakh while the Type-II will cost Rs 20.92 lakh.

The Paikraipur-II project will have 96 3-BHK flats over 1,704 square feet and 48 2-BHK flats over 1,333 square feet. Buyers will have to pay Rs 47.50 lakh for a 3-BHK and Rs 37.10 lakh for a 2-BHK flat.

The buyers will have to pay 10 per cent of the property value as security deposit. Housing & urban development minister Puspendra Singh Deo had officially launched the Paikraipur housing projects on January 19, which the BDA announced as a New Year gift for city residents.