166 sq yard plot for Rs 1.27 crore e-auctioned on first day

Hyderabad: A 166-square yard (sq. yd) residential plot on the banks of the Musi went for Rs 1,27,82,000, with realtors pushing up the land price during HMDA’s Phase II e-auction at Uppal Bhagat on Saturday. The plot is about 1.5 km from the Nagole Metro Rail station.

The lowest bid was Rs 30,400 per sq. yd for commercial plots. The price disparity took officials by surprise, they suspected a nexus between businessmen and realtors for this. This is the second time the Phase-II auction is being held.

The first round was cancelled in April because of alleged price fixing. Then, a group of realtors paid the earnest money deposit (EMD), which was pegged `30,000, and never turned up. Officials cited technical reasons for the cancellation and returned the money to the bidders.

On Saturday, 58 plots covering 32,821 sq. yds went under the hammer in two sessions. HMDA had fixed the upset price at `30,000 per sq. yd. In the morning session, the average bid was `60,452.35 per sq. yd, ranging between `46,600 and `77,000.

The second session saw a slump, the averag going down to `46,588.2.

The lowest bid was `30,100 per sq. yd and the highest, `76,000. It saw single bids for four plots and no bids for the two. Despite the slump in the market, the land value increased beyond the expectations of the HMDA officials. Six plots ranging in the commercial and multi-purpose zones were auctioned for `30,400, just above upset price of `30,100 in plot sizes between 1,000 sq. yds and 1,775 sq. yds. Sources said that realtors had caused a surge in the price of residential plots in the morning session and dampened the prices of

commercial plots in the evening. They said the realtors would not suffer any loss by paying by EMD of `3 lakh to `5 lakh. When the plot value is increased by  four times, the EMD money would barely matter.

Though officials have refused to comment on the price disparities, HMDA principal secretary Arvind Kumar claimed that the bidding received overwhelming response and `155 crore was mopped up on the very first day.

Upon confirmation of the allotment, the bidder has to pay 25 per cent of the price within a week and the remaining 75 per cent in the next 60 days to own the
plot. The first session of auction was conducted from 9 am to 4 pm for 29 plots covering 6,623.5 square yards. Plot No. 1302 measuring 166 sq. yds. fetched `77,000 per sq. yd, the highest for the day. The session fetched the HMDA `40,04,06,200.

The second session lasted from 2 pm to 7.10 pm 29 plots spread over 32,821.5 sq. yds. The 822-sq. yd Plot No.105 fetched `76,600 per sq. yd and topped the session. The total revenue was `132,22,96,250. The total income on Day 1 was `172,27,02,450.