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Row over prime land’s sale in Ludhiana: DC refutes fixing reserve price
LIT chairman had recently claimed that the 16,344 square yards land in Model Town Extension was sold for ₹98.38 crore only after its reserve price was finalised by a deputy commissioner-led panel
Four days after Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) chairman Raman Balasubramaniam refuted allegations of undervaluing a prime commercial property in Model Town Extension and said its reserve price was fixed by a deputy commissioner’s panel, the latter rebutted the claim on Saturday.
LIT had auctioned the 16,344 square yards (3.79 acres) land, among around two dozen properties, on August 16. Having a reserve price of ₹91.86 crore, the land was sold to Ritesh Properties and Industries limited for ₹98.38 crore, including 6% cess.
Claiming that LIT grossly undervalued the prime land, whose market price is around ₹300 crore, the Bharatiya Janata Party had demanded cancellation of the auction.
According LIT chairman Raman Balasubramaniam, the reserve price was fixed by a committee headed by deputy commissioner (DC) Varinder Kumar Sharma. However, the DC denied the claim and said rates for selling residential plots and commercial booths were finalised on LIT’s request.
As per information, LIT had asked the Price and Rent fixation committee, headed by the DC, to fix the reserve price for around a dozen LIT properties situated in different scheme areas in December last year.
The list included commercial plots and built-up booths in Model Town Extension (400 acre) scheme.
A meeting of the committee was held in February, and attended by cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, MLA Surinder Dawar and mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu, among others.
DC Sharma told HT during that meeting, only rates for residential plots and built-up booths in Model Town Extension were fixed, at ₹28,103 per square yard and ₹56,207 per square yard, respectively.
“There is no mention of a 16,344 square yards commercial plot in that list, so no reserve price was decided for it. The LIT chairman or officials can answer how they interpreted the rates fixed by the committee to determine the reserve price of this chunk of land,” he added.
On his part, Subramaniam said there seemed to be some miscommunication, as the reserve price was finalised by the DC committee only and proceedings of the meeting were available with LIT.
“Reserve prices for residential and commercial land were fixed by the committee. We would have sought the price (for the 16,344 square yards plot) separately if it would have any built up area,” the chairman claimed.
BJP seeks FIR against LIT chairman
Meanwhile, alleging scam in the matter, the BJP through a complaint to the DC, on Saturday, demanded an FIR against the LIT chairman.
BJP leader Bikram Sidhu alleged that the chairman committed fraud at the behest of a cabinet minister and some close aides of the minister were also involved in it.
“The LIT had once proposed to earn around ₹400 crore by establishing a Food Street at the site and now put the land on sale against a reserve price of ₹91.86 crore only. An FIR should be lodged against the chairman and others involved in the case. The government should cancel all auctions organised by the chairman and an inquiry should be marked in all cases,” Sidhu said.
Balasubramaniam refuted the allegations, stating that Sidhu’s claims were baseless and without any proof. “All protocols were followed and LIT auctioned the properties as per norms after getting permission from the state government,” he said.
