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Facing financial crisis, PMPML begins auction of 16 prime properties
The 16 prime properties to be leased are located in Swargate, Hadapsar, Deccan and Narveer Tanaji Wadi in Shivajinagar, officials said on Monday
Beginning 11 am on November 21, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) board has initiated the process for the e-auction of 16 prime urban properties, the proposal for the lease of which was pending before the PMPML administration for the last two years.
The 16 prime properties to be leased are located in Swargate, Hadapsar, Deccan and Narveer Tanaji Wadi in Shivajinagar, officials said on Monday. The site will remain open till 5 pm on December 21, 2023, they said. The documents will be scrutinised between December 22, 2023 and January 2, 2024 and the auction will take place from 11 am on January 24 to 5 pm on January 25, 2024. The civic body has also released a newspaper advertisement seeking bids for the 16 prime properties.
“Two of the properties are in Swargate, four in Deccan, seven in Hadapsar, one in Market Yard, and two at Narveer Tanaji Wadi in Shivajinagar,” a senior PMPML official said.
For the past 10 years, the PMPML has been facing a paucity of funds amid the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) refusing to bail it out. To overcome the crisis, the PMPML has now decided to lease its prime properties. According to rough estimates, leasing out the said properties will lead to revenue generation of ₨50 lakhs per month, an amount which will help fund the modernisation of PMPML’s infrastructure and significantly reduce its liabilities.
The PMPML has been forced to lease out its properties as it previously defaulted on payments to contractors after which the latter approached the tribunal seeking compensation. Currently, the PMPML is facing a severe financial crunch and is not in a position to procure a loan from the banks. The PMPML authorities in their official document had said that the development of 30 of their properties will be carried out on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis or by leasing out the properties. The properties will undergo complete renovation as part of the modernisation programme at a cost of ₨11,666 crores.
The proposal to develop the properties was put forward during the board meeting in 2021 and recently got approval from the PMPML top brass. The newly renovated properties will have workshops along with ample parking facilities for the buses, while the upper floors will accommodate hospitals, hotels, offices and other commercial establishments. V K Associates, a private agency, was entrusted the task of conducting a feasibility study after which it carried out a survey of the properties. Following the report, the PMPML decided to take up the project.
The survey report found out that the properties can be developed according to the areas where they are located. The agency has estimated that the modernisation will fetch profits up to ₨1,516 crores for the PMPML annually once the they are developed and the space leased for commercial activities.
PMPML public relations’ officer Satish Gate said that the PMPML board had approved the proposal to develop 16 of its prime urban properties to fetch good revenue for the transport body. “The e-auction process has been initiated and the necessary timelines have been uploaded on the official portal for the prospective bidders,” Gate said.
