Housing Board auctions plots for Rs 10 crore

PANJIM, MARCH 8
In a major auctioning, the State Housing Board has earned Rs 10 crore from sale of various plots this month, which were lying unsold for years.
The sale at Mapusa fetched maximum revenue for the board.
Several plots in Mapusa, Camurlim and Sanqulim, which were not auctioned for years together where also sold out recently.
Housing Board officials stated that these lands were awaiting auctioning since last several years.
The statistics obtained from the board reveals that 17 plots in Mapusa, 12 in Camurlim and 10 in Sanqulim were auctioned in a transparent manner.
Officials said that the public sale fetched good price for these lands. For example, the land admeasuring 300 sq metres in Mapusa town was sold out at whopping Rs 30 lakh. In Mapusa town itself, plots worth Rs 2.5 crore were sold during the auction.
A senior official said that total Rs 10 crore were netted in the auctioning process, which has made the board richer.
The board has decided to increase its network of housing board colonies across the state.
The process to set colony at Padoxem village, few kilometers away from Sanqulim town, has also begun. Officials said that the land would be purchased here and plots would be developed for residential purpose.
Similar colony is planned at Dhargal. At Colvale, the board plans duplex bungalows and also development of 96 plots while at Sancoale 32 plots are developed.
“Once the land is acquired, the smaller size plots would be demarked and made available for the people who are in need of housing,” he said adding that it will take one or one and half year for the land acquisition formalities to be completed.
The board has been facing criticism in recent past for overpricing their plots during the auction.
Clarifying over the issue, official said that just one third of the plots are auctioned while two third are given on first-cum-first-serve (FCFS) basis and on the lots.