Curation Team
HYDERABAD: The Telangana Housing Board is preparing to auction more than 7.5 acres of open land located in the centre of the city at the Kukatpally Housing Board (KPHB) colony on Wednesday, with expectations to generate nearly 500 crore from the sale.
The upset price has been established at 40 crore per acre. The board had called bidders for an e-auction, scheduled to commence from 3pm on Wednesday. Additionally, 618 flats consisting of 3BHK units in unfinished towers (residential high-rises of nine and 12 floors) at Pocharam and Gajularamaram are also set to be auctioned on Wednesday.
The Telangana Housing Board’s confidence in raising close to 500 crore is based on the outcome of a previous e-auction, where an acre of open commercial land fetched over 65.3 crore. The auction for plot number 1 in Phase 4 of KPHB, held on July 30, attracted 11 bidders, with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), a statutory body overseeing the chartered accountancy profession in the country, securing the bid among the four online final bidders.
A record price of 2.98 lakh per sq yd was also achieved for an open plot in KPHB Phase-7 during an auction held by the Housing Board in June this year. However, this time, the over 7.5-acre parcel is residential land, featuring a 60-ft-wide road adjacent to it, with the master plan proposing an expansion to 120 feet. This road provides strong connectivity to the city’s IT corridor. The deadline for submission of bids was 5 pm on Tuesday.
Officials noted that plot prices tend to be higher when the plot size is smaller, compared to the current offering of over 7.5 acres of residential land, making it unlikely that the 2.98-lakh-per-sq-yard-rate will be reached, especially as the land is being sold in acres rather than sq yards.
Housing board vice chairman VP Gautam stated to TOI that over 300 crore has been raised so far through the auction of open plots and Rajiv Swagruha flats in the past two months. The funds generated from the auction of lands and flats will be used for affordable housing projects and the Indiramma housing scheme in the state.
