Another bid to sell LIT ‘white elephant’

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, June 14

The built-up 2.22-acre commercial complex on Maharani Jhansi Road of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) is in the news once again. After two unsuccessful attempts to sell this prime property during the past 10 years, LIT has once again put the property on the block for sale as a single unit at a ‘reduced’ reserve price of Rs157.60 crore. The e-auction for sale of the complex, along with a few other built-up properties, residential plots and an institutional site, would be conducted on July 2.

The ‘jinxed’ commercial complex, even though located in an upmarket commercial area of Maharani Jhansi Road near Ghumar Mandi, has turned out to be a big thorn in the flesh of the LIT as the complex - with built-up area of nearly 19,000 square yards and having basement parking, had failed to find buyers despite best efforts made by the authorities.

A public auction was scheduled for sale of the complex in November 2009 and another in March 2013 at a reserve price of Rs197 crore. But since the property could not be sold, as per the policy of the state government, the complex was now being offered at Rs157.60 crore (reduction of 20 per cent) as a single unit.

In the past, the then LIT top brass had sent proposals to the state government seeking approval to sell the complex in parts, and also to reduce the ‘unrealistic’ reserve price from Rs197 crore to Rs 105 crore but both proposals were rejected by the then government.

According to LIT Chairman Raman Balasubramaniam, the registration of bidders for the e-auction of commercial complex and other sites/properties would be held from June 15 at 10 am to June 29 till 5 pm and the e-auction would take place on July 2 from 9 am to 3 pm.

The other properties

Apart from the commercial complex, other sites/properties being offered for sale in the e-auction include one school site measuring 9224.33 sq mtr in Maharishi Valmiki Nagar, four built-up booths with area of 19.60 sq mtr each and 14 booths with area of 18.75 sq mtr each in the same colony, 10 residential plots measuring 83.61 sq mtr each, one plot measuring 143.18 sq mtr at Kitchlu Nagar and seven residential plots (area 53.50 sq mtr each) at Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar.