Chandigarh, May 9: After 10 years, residents will get an opportunity to own property in the city as the Administration has given its nod to a proposal of the Estate Office to auction properties.
Sources said the Estate Office had sought permission from the Administration for the auction of the properties and for fixing the reserve price.
The Finance Department has allowed the Estate Office to fix the reserve price of the properties on the basis of the collector rate of the area.
The sources said the decision for fixing the reserve price on the basis of the collector rates was taken as no auction of properties had taken place in the past 10 years. Earlier, the reserve price of the properties used to be fixed on the basis of the average price of the past three auctions.
Experts feel that the Estate Office may not get the desired response in case the reserve price is fixed on the basis of the collector rates. Kamaljit Singh Panchi, chairman of the Property Consultants Association, said the collector rates in the city were very high and not based on reality. He said the collector rates of commercial properties were higher than the market rates in many sectors.
The last auction of properties was held in 2009. Since then, the Administration planned auctions four times, but could not conduct it for fear of earning less revenue.
Ashok Bansal, a realtor, said the Administration was unable to hold an auction on account of high collector rates, onetime payment of the total auction price and mainly because of the leasehold system, which lead to a very high yearly ground rent.
The sources said this time, the Estate Office was planning to auction approximately 70 residential and commercial plots, which were lying vacant in different pockets of Chandigarh.
In 2009, the Administration earned Rs 60 crore from 12 commercial properties, while Rs 40 crore was received from the auction of 33 residential plots. Plot number 1289 in Sector 19 was the costliest. The 1 kanal plot was auctioned for Rs 4.06 crore. The average price for residential sites was Rs 74,820 per sq yard, while the commercial site price went up to Rs 2.74 lakh per sq yard.
The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) found no takers for the properties which it intended to sell in Rajiv Gandhi Technology Park. The CHB had put up plots for hospital and school and residential sites for auction, but it got a lukewarm response due to the high reserve price based on the collector rates.
Sourced from The Tribune
