Hundreds of bidders in lurch after paying lakhs as CIDCO keeps postponing shops’ auction

When contacted, a CIDCO official on condition of anonymity said, “Several people couldn’t bid from 5 pm onwards on May 22 due to website issues

NAVI MUMBAI: Hundreds of people who have deposited lakhs of rupees to participate in the bidding process for shops on sale by CIDCO have been in the lurch for months. The auction process has been stalled repeatedly despite assurances after the nodal agency’s website crashed during the original bidding date.

Navi Mumbai, India - July 4, 2024:Hundreds of bidders in lurch after paying lakhs as CIDCO keeps postponing shopsÕ auction - Ulwe Baman Dongri Housing proje at Ulwe in Navi Mumbai, India, on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

CIDCO, Navi Mumbai’s nodal agency launched a scheme for the sale of shops at the Bamandongri housing project in Uwe vide e-tender cum e-auction on March 14 this year. The closed bids were submitted by the bidders by May 21 while the e-auction was scheduled on May 22 from 10am to 6pm. The website however crashed on the day and several people couldn’t bid.

CIDCO had then assured all that it would hold the process again but it hasn’t happened yet. The bidders have met CIDCO officials at their office in Raigad Bhavan several times including on Thursday when they had a meeting with Shrinivas Mokalikar, marketing manager (housing), CIDCO. They have now threatened to resort to morcha and go to court.

Said Ravi Khengle, one of the bidders, “Each bidder has deposited at least ₹4 lakh as Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) for a shop, while some have paid more to bid for more than one shop. CIDCO officials told us that around 1,736 applications have been received. So obviously CIDCO is sitting pretty with at least ₹70 crore of our money which could be even higher.”

He stated, “Several of us have taken loans and sold land, jewellery etc to deposit the money. We are paying interest on it. All we have been getting are promises that are not kept. Their IT work is obviously not happening. They should change their IT agency if the present one is unable to do it.”

Said Shivaji Tikone, a resident of Seawoods, “I have paid around ₹4 lakh three months back. It has been more than a month since the bidding process was disrupted. We keep coming to meet CIDCO officials and all we get are dates. We want CIDCO to pay us interest for the delay.”

He warned, “We will take out a morcha and also go to court if the issue is not resolved at the earliest. CIDCO cannot take us for granted.”

When contacted, a CIDCO official on condition of anonymity said, “Several people couldn’t bid from 5 pm onwards on May 22 due to website issues. We found that the website had crashed in the final hour of e-auction.”

Added the official, “The bidders who have already completed the registration process and paid the EMD amount will be given one more opportunity to participate in the e-auction process. Details of the date of e-auction will be published on the website.”

Asked when it is expected to be done, the official said, “Load testing is going on. It will most probably be done by next week.”