Govt to lease out 60 cottah land at Belgachia tram depot

The state transport department will lease out around 60 cottah land at Belgachia tram depot. The department will select the highest bidder to whom the land will be leased out to. This is a part of the Calcutta Tramways Corporation’s (CTC) move to monitor the idle assets with the revenue generated to be utilised in revamping the corporation.

CTC has invited companies to take part in the bidding process and the state transport department officials are expecting that it would not be any problem to get three bidders for the auctioning of the plot at Belgachia tram depot which is located in a prime location. There has to be at least three bidders to complete the auctioning process successfully.

The transport department had fixed a particular area of land that is to be leased out. Later, the quantum of land in some of the depots was increased to encourage more companies to come 

forward for the bidding process. 

Initially it was decided to lease out 51.66 cottah of land in Belgachia tram depot. Later it was increased to around 59.33 cottah. The initiative to lease out the plot at Belgachia was taken along with the land at Tollygunge tram depot in mid 2015.

The plot at the Tollygunge tram depot was the largest one among all the proposed lands which were leased out and are yet to be auctioned. Around 241 cottah land at Tollygunge tram depot was leased out at a record price of Rs 181 crores.

It may be mentioned that the state transport department had decided to lease out the surplus land of CTC in October 2013 and the decision to lease out the land was taken to give a new lease of life to the transport corporation using the revenue.

The plan was to lease out the total around 374 cottah plots in six tram depots – Belgachia, Shyambazar, Galiff Street, Kalighat, Tollygunge and Kidderpore - in phases. In the first phase, the plots at Kidderpore, Kalighat and Galiff Street were leased out.

All the three plots were leased out to the private power utility CESC following a bidding process 

in February 2014. The Kidderpore one of 27.88 cottah was leased out at Rs 13.21 crores. 

The other two 14.95 cottah at Galiff Street and 12.33 cottah at Kalighat Tram depot were leased out at Rs 6.51 crores and Rs 8.01 crores.

After successful auctioning of the plots in Kidderpore, Kalighat, Galiff Street and Tollygunge, the CTC officials feel that the plot in Bengachia tram depot will be also fetch good revenue for the corporation.