Curation Team
MYSURU: In a development that could silence a section of developers, activists, and politicians who suspect a scam in the online auction of Mysuru Development Authority (MDA) sites, about 118 bidders approached the authority to buy sites that were auctioned since early this month to complete the paperwork.
The highest bidder for a 745sqft plot, in the II phase of Vijayanagar IV stage, West Mysuru, quoted to buy the plot for a whopping Rs 2 crores, while another bidder quoted Rs 9 crores for 4,133 sqft. They visited the office to complete formalities.
Buyers have to pay approximately 7% stamp duty, which would further increase the sale price. The bidder for the Rs 9 crore plot has to pay an additional Rs 63 lakh stamp duty, while the one who bought the Rs 2 crore plot has to pay a stamp duty of Rs 14 lakh.
The development has raised eyebrows of developers as the whopping price was quoted for small plots, which, they argued, the buyers could have bought bigger plots in Tony layout, which is touted to be the biggest layout in India with more than 20,000 sites.
MDA in-charge commissioner KR Rakshith informed that the two bidders approached the authority to complete the auction process. He revealed that about 1,200 buyers quoted prices of their choice for 200 different sites that were put up for auction online in Aug. Of them, 118 have turned up to buy the sites they were interested in, he noted. About 45 sites that had single bidder has been rejected.
Rakshith confirmed to TOI, that given the quoted price, two corner sites, are likely to be bought by the highest bidders. The highest bidder for the 4,133 sqft site, approached MDA and took details of the mode of payment and the process to complete the sale, while the one who quoted Rs 2 crores for 745 sqft plot has promised to complete the sale auction by purchasing it, he said.
The MDA commissioner, in reply, denied there is a lobby in the site auction.
Chairman of the CREDAI, Mysuru chapter, D Srihari suspected there could be a lobby behind the unreasonable quoting for small plots in Vijayanagar and expressed fear that the development could adversely impact real estate growth in Mysuru. For the same price, sites could have been bought in Bengaluru, he said.
BJP OBC Morcha state president R Raghu also expressed shock over the development, stating that the selling price of sites in the locality is around Rs 7,000 per sqft, but the quoted price for a few sites is more than three times that. Moreover, it is not a commercial space but a residential one. This development could leave localities in the lurch and make their dream to own a site or build a distant dream, he stated.
The guidance value of sites at Vijayanagar is approximately Rs 3,000 per sq ft.
