No Takers For Sites At IT Park- Chandigarh

CHB extends auction deadline by month

Report from Tribune News Service

The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has once again failed to find any bidder for the hospital, school and residential sites at Rajiv Gandhi Technology Park, Chandigarh.

Despite extending the deadline by a month and relaxing the mode of payment, no one registered for the auction till Friday, the last day for the purpose.

All eyes were on the auction as the CHB was holding “one of the biggest auctions after many years".

Property experts have blamed the high reserve prices based on the existing collector rates and the huge lease money for the failure of the auction. The CHB authorities have now extended the deadline for the auction by another month till November 30.

An amount of Rs 308 crore was fixed as the reserve price for the hospital plot, measuring 8.17 acre, while the reserve price for the school plot, measuring 4.50 acre, was Rs 188.37 crore. Being commercial, both these sites were put up for sale on a leasehold basis. The residential plot, measuring 4.55 acre, was put up for auction at a reserve price of Rs 163 crore on a freehold basis.

The CHB had opened the auction in September and the deadline was extended by a month after it found no takers. The CHB relaxed the terms and conditions of payment. While there was one-month time for depositing the amount, the CHB decided to accept the payment in seven installments within 900 days.

JD Gupta, a property expert, said no auction would succeed in the city till the Administration reduced the collector rates, which were not based on reality. The lease money was also very high. The CHB is developing 123 acres which it got from Parsvnath Developers last year after the latter failed to start a housing project there for over seven years.

The CHB has prepared a detailed plan for the development of the area. Eight sites have been identified for private housing projects while the CHB will construct houses on two sites for government employees and judges. Besides housing, sites have also been identified for a five-star hotel, a commercial complex, shopping malls and a hospital.