Decade on, UT to auction properties

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 14

The Estate Office has decided to auction around 70 commercial and residential properties in the city. The last auction had taken place in 2009.

Sources said the auction was likely to be held next month.

The process to hold the auction started after the UT Administration recently okayed a proposal of the Estate Office in this regard.

Sources said the Estate Office would put around 70 properties, both commercial and residential, on auction. A majority of plots to be auctioned are located in southern sectors. Commercial properties in Sector 48 and 49 will also be auctioned.

Sizes of most residential plots to be auctioned range from 5 to 14 marla. Ten of the plots are likely to be of one kanal and two kanal size. The Finance Department, UT, has already allowed the Estate Office to fix the reserve price of the properties on the basis of their collector rates.

JD Gupta, a realtor, said the collector rates in the city were very high and unrealistic. In many sectors, the collector rates of commercial properties were higher than the market rates, he added.

The last auction of properties was held in 2009. Since then, the Administration had planned auctions four times but did not hold for fear of earning less revenue. Experts said high collector rates, one-time payment and leasehold system were some of the reasons that stopped the Administration from auctioning properties.

Then, a 1-kanal plot, located in Sector 19, had fetched the UT Rs 4.06 crore. The average price of residential sites was Rs 74,820 per sq yard. A commercial site was auctioned at Rs 2.74 lakh per sq yard. The Administration had then earned Rs 60 crore from the auction of 12 commercial properties and Rs 40 crore from 33 residential plots.

MC auction a flop show

• The Municipal Corporation has failed to find any takers for its 107 built-up booths in Vikas Nagar, Mauli Jagran. No one turned up to bid for the booths when these were put up on auction on Friday. 
• Anil Dubey, area councillor, said unless the MC reduced the reserve price of booths, it would not find any takers. 
• The reserve price ranges between Rs 15.75 lakh and Rs 18.42 lakh for 11.49 sq metre booths, depending on the location.