Bhubaneswar, Sept 2: It is no secret that upscale Nayapalli is one of the most developed areas of the city. But what springs a surprise is the fact that a 3,375sqft plot in this locality, fetched a whopping sum of Rs. 2.01 crore at an auction conducted by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA).

On July 23, the general administration department had issued a public notice regarding the auction of 18 highly developed government plots located in Nayapalli. The plots have commendable infrastructure facilities.

As many as 14 plots of different sizes in N-3, N-4, N-5 and N-6 localities of the area went under the hammer today. Two other plots of 3,500sqft went for Rs 1.95 crore and Rs 1.76 crore respectively.

“Of the 18 plots available only 14 were auctioned today,’’ said BDA public relations and enforcement officer Debaprasad Dash. While in the first case, the bid fetched 115 per cent more than the offset price, in the second case and third case the plots were sold for 126 per cent and 104 per cent more than the offset price, which had been fixed between Rs 86 lakh and 92 lakh. The plots will be leased out to the successful bidders for a period of 90 years following execution of lease deed and completion of other formalities. The auction, however, has led to speculation about further price rise in the offset price of government land in the capital.

BDA allotment officer Sibanarayan Nanda said: “The auction sale might influence the market rate of land in the Bhubaneswar. The areas for which the auction was held today is highly developed and that is why it attracts buyers.”

On why the plots were sold through auction and not lottery, the senior BDA official said: “Sale of such prime property through lottery will not only be time consuming but would also lack transparency. Besides, the auction process also ensures good return on its property for the government.”

Natabara Panda, a retired government servant residing at Nayapalli said: “The auctioning of government land by the state agencies will definitely see land price shooting up.’’

At present, land in Jayadev Vihar has the highest rate in the city with its benchmark area value (BAV) at Rs 10 crore per acre while in Nayapalli, Patia, Mancheswar, Laxmisagar, Tamando, Chandrsekharpur and Badagada, the government BAV per acre ranges between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 1 crore.

Real-estate developer D. S. Tripathy, however, sees the development as worrying. “Bhubaneswar is a state capital where the land holding by the state government is around 72 per cent around the city and private land holding is limited. On the other hand, the BDA being the agency to create land banks for uniform urban development is silent on its primary responsibility, so the price set by such auctioning promoted by the government will definitely increase the land price and ultimately lead to a rise in the real estate price.’’

He advised the development authority and revenue department to focus on development of land around the city for affordable housing to help the middle class and low-income groups.