Commercial plot auction in Baddi fetches Rs 124 crore over reserve price

The auction of commercial plots has fetched Rs 124 crore more than the reserve price to the Himachal Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) recently.

All five industrial plots at Sansiwala village were sold, two shops located in the Baddi commercial block also found eager buyers as they along with four sites for shops in the educational hub of Barotiwala fetched Rs 5.75 crore to the authority, said Surender Vashisht, Chief Engineer, HIMUDA.

Since the auction was held after more than two years, the buyers, including new investors, turned up in a large number. For every plot, there were eight to 12 bidders.

The auction registered good participation from the investors as industrial plots, shops and vacant plots were up for sale at various places in the Baddi-Barotiwala industrial area.

The largest plot measuring 555 m in Sansiwala village was sold for as high as Rs 86 lakh against the reserve price of Rs 56 lakh. Other plots measuring 505 m, 510 m, 516 m and 565.75 m with the reserve price ranging from Rs 51 lakh to Rs 57.70 lakh fetched between Rs 61.75 lakh and Rs 85.50 lakh.

Two shops at the commercial complexes at Baddi phase-I and phase-II priced at Rs 54.40 lakh and Rs 24.78 lakh were sold for Rs 55.15 lakh and Rs 26 lakh, respectively. Only five leftover industrial plots were offered in the auction and were sold instantly.

Vashisht said that entrepreneurs evinced keen interest in the auction, as they were eager to invest in the state but the absence of suitable land was acting as a deterrent. An investor secured a 500 m plot at Sensiwala village for Rs 86 lakh against the reserve price of Rs 56 lakh. The same investor bought two showrooms located on the first floor of the Himuda Commercial Complex in Baddi for Rs 81 lakh. Four shop sites at Atal Shiksha Kunj at Kalujhinda village in Barotiwala were sold for Rs 67 lakh.