E-auction to lease out 5.6 acre land parcel in Alipore a grand success, says Firhad
Kolkata: State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim said on Friday that the resilient real estate space has shown a remarkable turnaround after the initial waves of Covid as migrating unskilled labour halted projects.
While delivering the keynote address at the CII conference on "Unlocking Values – Time to Transform" — which focuses to explore key drivers of growth in business, Hakim said the development of real estate is "on track" and the cooperation of the government is exemplary in terms of 2 per cent exemption in stamp duty and a 10 per cent exemption on circle rates of land and property. Hakim, who is also the Kolkata Mayor, said that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has extended assistance in terms of higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR), the minimum time for issuance of NOCs, online submission of plans etc. and the Ease of Doing Business model has been made smoother.
"The Common Application Form (CAF) has helped to ease acquiring construction permission, clearance of plans among others," he added.
Speaking about WBHIDCO which is the nodal agency for disposing of property transparently and for getting the maximum possible value out of it, Hakim said that the e-auction to lease out a 5.6 acre of land parcel in Alipore for residential and commercial use as part of the Alipore Green City project that ended in the wee hours of Friday has been extremely satisfying.
Taking the cue from the minister who is also the chairman of HIDCO, Debashis Sen, Managing Director of HIDCO said that the top bidder has been an investor for Mumbai. He maintained that six more land parcels measuring around 11 acres will also be e-auctioned. Some of the land parcels identified for monetisation by the state are four properties within the KMC area and a few land parcels and assets in New Town.
The Floor Area Ratio and ground coverage relating to Alipore will be according to the KMC building rules and the Land Use Development and Control Plan of the area.
Speaking on the occasion, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, the Chief Advisor to Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, said it is essential that all conditions for buying, acquiring land, and assets be pre-discussed with potential bidders for more transparency, credibility and organicity. He emphasised that freehold transfers of assets can have a chance of misuse and requires consensual pre-discussions among all stakeholders.
The initiative chaired by Sushil Mohta, chairman, Merlin Group, brought together industry experts, key decision-makers in the state government, top-notch global consultants and major real estate companies to share their thoughts on the opportunities that exist today and what the future holds for the industry.
