Noida, Sep 23 - The administrative board of Noida, the capital city's suburb, has decided to reserve 18 percent residential plots for the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) applicants, officials said Wednesday.

The total reservation for developed plots of land will now be 50 percent under the four categories - industrial, farmers, institutional and residential.

The reservation under each category will henceforth be 18 percent for the SC/ST applicants.

Noida Authority CEO Mohinder Singh said the population density of the group housing societies will also be increased from 1,250 to 1,650 per hectare so that there is optimum utilisation of available space within Noida.

'The board has also decided to start a 'Noida-Greater Noida City Bus Service' with 20 new buses.