BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has put up 20 plots in Sahid Nagar and Ghatikia mouzas of the Capital for auction. The upset prices, however, left many baffled. Nearly double the benchmark price fixed by the Revenue and Disaster Management department, the lowest acceptable rates for e-auction have triggered apprehension of an artificial inflation of real estate prices in Bhubaneswar.
Upset price for a 4,500 sq ft plot in Saheed Nagar has been set at over Rs 3.10 crore which calculates to Rs 6,900 per square feet of area. Benchmark value fixed by the Inspector General of Registration (IGR) for the plot is Rs 3,673 per square ft. Basing on the upset price of Rs 3.10 crore for the 4,500 sq ft area set by BDA, an acre of land in Sahid Nagar comes to Rs 30.05 crore as against the IRG benchmark of Rs 16 crore. The auction, on November 30, will see the actual price soar well beyond that. Same applies to the Ghatikia plots.
With a huge regional disparity in urban development in the State, and Bhubaneswar being the only place where everyone wants a property, real estate prices have already witnessed artificial rise in the past decade. Now BDA’s auction may send real estate prices into a territory which will artificially impact the market as private players are likely to follow suit.
As a development authority, BDA’s primary responsibility is to reform and regulate market prices in housing and real estate sector and control inflation but is doing just the opposite, alleged a section of home buyers and realtors. BDA sources said the property are being targetted to be sold at market prices and there was nothing wrong about it. Besides, it fetches important revenue for the State. Many real estate developers, however, questioned the rationale.
Since benchmark value of the plots have already been fixed by the Revenue department, BDA’s decision to sell them at a higher price through auction shows contradiction between two government bodies, president of Association for Odisha Real Estate Developers (AFORD) Nishith Ranjan Nanda says.
Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, Odisha chairman DS Tripathy feels only super rich would be able to buy these plots if they are put to auction at such higher rates. “It will also pose difficulty for property developers, in case they take part in the bid, as they will also be forced to sell the property built on those plots at a much higher rate to the buyers,” he added.
BDA allotment officer Sabyasachi Hota, however, said that the upset prices have been kept more than the benchmark value keeping in view the present market rate of the localities. He also said it includes certain ‘development charges.’