Glossary
EMD (Earnest Money Deposit)
An EMD is a refundable deposit a bidder pays before an auction opens, proving they intend to bid.
In a government plot auction it is usually a percentage of the reserve price or a fixed slab, and it is adjusted into the purchase price if you win and returned if you do not. Across the schemes SarkariProperty tracks, EMD is set at 5% of the reserve at RIICO (minimum ₹25,000), 10% of the reserve at MDA published per plot, and a fixed slab at CHB.
Where the EMD sits in an auction
Notice publishedReserve price per plot and the EMD against it, in the authority's brochure
Registration closesFee and EMD both due by this date, days before the auction. Miss it and you cannot bid
Auction dayBidding above the reserve. The EMD sits with the authority
Did not winEMD refunded to the bank account given at registration, usually within weeks, without interest
WonEMD adjusted into the first instalment. Fail to pay the first tranche and the EMD is forfeited
Worth knowing
Miss the EMD deadline and the bid cannot be placed at all - it closes with registration, not on the auction day.
The EMD is forfeited if you win and then fail to pay, which is the single most expensive mistake in a plot auction.
Schemes taking an EMD right now
NBCC Group Housing Plot GH02 Ved Vyas Puri Meerut
NBCC · Uttar Pradesh · Meerut · 1 on sale · E-auctionDevelopers and societiesRegister on eNivida, bid
from ₹10.0 Crcloses today3 Novregistration closesNBCC Group Housing Plot GH3B Koyal Enclave Ghaziabad
NBCC · Uttar Pradesh · Ghaziabad · 1 on sale · E-auctionDevelopers and societiesRegister on eNivida, bid
from ₹28.2 Crcloses today3 Novregistration closesKDA Kota e-Auction, third round October 2026
KDA Kota · Rajasthan · Kota · 90 on sale · E-auctionAny SSO-registered bidderRajasthan SSO, lodge EMD
from ₹13.07 Lcloses today3 Novregistration closesNagar Palika Malpura e-Auction October 2026
Nagar Palika Malpura · Rajasthan · Malpura · 10 on sale · E-auctionfrom ₹18.75 Lcloses today3 Novregistration closesNagar Palika Chabra e-Auction, second round, October 2026
Nagar Palika Chabra · Rajasthan · Chabra · 1 on sale · E-auctionfrom ₹36.12 Lcloses today5 Novregistration closesYEIDA Group Housing Plots GH-12/2026
YEIDA · Uttar Pradesh · Yamuna Expressway · 10 on sale · E-auctionDevelopers passing YEIDA's testQualify first, then bid
from ₹68.9 Cr2 days leftQuestions people ask about EMD
What is EMD in a government plot auction?
An EMD is a refundable deposit a bidder pays before an auction opens, proving they intend to bid. In a government plot auction it is usually a percentage of the reserve price or a fixed slab, and it is adjusted into the purchase price if you win and returned if you do not. Across the schemes SarkariProperty tracks, EMD is set at 5% of the reserve at RIICO (minimum ₹25,000), 10% of the reserve at MDA published per plot, and a fixed slab at CHB.
The other words a notice uses
EMD (Earnest Money Deposit)An EMD is a refundable deposit a bidder pays before an auction opens, proving they intend to bid.Reserve priceA reserve price is the floor an authority sets for a plot - the lowest bid it will accept.Freehold and leaseholdA freehold plot is owned outright.Location premium (PLC)A location premium, or preferential location charge, is an extra percentage an authority adds for a plot with a better position - a corner, a park frontage, or a wide road.Lucky drawA lucky draw allots flats or plots by lot among everyone who applied and paid the registration amount, rather than to the highest bidder.e-AuctionAn e-auction is an online ascending-bid sale run on the authority's own portal.Allotment letterThe authority's letter confirming the flat or plot is yours, with the payment schedule.Category: environmental, and reservedAuthorities publish a "category" against a plot and mean two unrelated things by it.TDS on property (section 194-IA)Under section 194-IA of the Income Tax Act, a buyer of immovable property valued at ₹50 lakh or more must deduct 1% TDS and deposit it with the government.GST on a plot purchaseGST treatment differs by what the land is for.Reserve price and circle rateThe circle rate is the state's minimum valuation for stamp duty; the reserve price is the authority's floor for the auction.Possession and infrastructure statusAn authority can allot a plot before the estate's roads, water and sewer are finished.CorrigendumA notice that changes a published notice: a date, a plot, a venue.Registration moneyWhat a lucky draw applicant pays to enter; refunded to the unsuccessful.InstalmentsPaying the price in parts on the authority's schedule, with interest as the brochure prints it.Income categories (EWS, LIG, MIG, HIG)Income categories the authority uses to price and reserve flats; the first two carry an income ceiling.Group housing plotA plot sold to build apartment blocks, usually by auction to a developer or society.