Punjab Cabinet nod to reduce prices of Rs 8,000 crore worth of properties unsold in auctions

The cash-strapped Punjab Government has decided to reduce the reserve price of prime state properties worth Rs 8,000 crore that had been lying in neglect for years and couldn’t find any bidders in auctions.

To facilitate the process, the Council of Ministers, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here this afternoon, approved amendments to the e-auction policy for land and properties. “We have decided to reassess the reserve price of these properties, which was very high. Because of the high rates, the properties could not find any buyers in previous auctions,” said Finance Minister Harpal Cheema.

The decision came close on the heels of earlier meetings held to dispose of several government properties, including those owned by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, Mandi Board, municipal corporations and the departments of irrigation, public works, local government, health, horticulture, sports, housing and transport.

The Tribune has learnt that the properties that could go under the hammer after the change in e-auction policy include the Old Bus Stand land in Patiala; assets owned by the Power Department in Ludhiana and Patiala; Ladowal Seed Farm in Ludhiana; and a chunk of the prime land opposite the DC office and on Rani Jhansi Road in Ludhiana.

Other decisions

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• Cabinet nod to buy six sniffer dogs from BSF, CRPF to check criminal activities inside jails
• Land to be given to cooperative societies for flats under Group Housing Scheme-2025
• One-time extension of up to 5 years for pending housing projects on payment of Rs 25,000 per acre per year
• Flood relief hiked to Rs 10,000 per acre for 26-75% crop loss; Rs 20,000 for 76-100% loss
• Rs 40,000/unit for partially damaged house, up from Rs 6,500

“The reserve price for these properties was too high. Leave aside finding buyers, bidders were not even attending the auction,” a senior minister had told The Tribune last week, explaining the need to reduce the reserve price.

As per the policy changes, three independent evaluators, empanelled with the Income Tax Department or nationalised banks, will be appointed to re-evaluate the cost of properties. The reserve price fixed by them would remain valid for a year, said Cheema. “In case half of the properties still remain unsold, their reserve price will be lowered by 10 per cent, and another 5 per cent subsequently,” said the Finance Minister.

In another significant decision, the Cabinet approved a proposal to clear silt from the Beas and Sutlej. Water Resources and Mining Minister Barinder Goyal said they had identified 85 sites for the de-silting, 28 of them along the Beas. “This will help the state extract 190 crore cubic feet of silt, valued at Rs 840 crore. During the previous Congress regime, the Beas was declared a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance), which prohibits any mining or de-silting. After the Cabinet approval, we will now seek permission from the Centre to allow de-silting,” he said.

To finance interstate check-posts, the Cabinet approved amendments to the Punjab Minor Mineral Rules-2013 to levy a fee on vehicles entering the state while carrying processed or unprocessed minor minerals. The Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to set up a sub-committee to oversee transition of rolling mills in Mandi Gobindgarh and Khanna from coal to piped natural gas.