BPTP seeks to surrender plot it bid for Rs 5,006 cr.
Realty player Business Parks and Town Planners (BPTP) has applied for the surrender of a 95-acre commercial plot at Sector 94, Noida, that it had bought for Rs 5,006 crore, as it was unable to complete the payment. It was the biggest land deal the country ever witnessed.
In a statement, BPTP Director Sudhanshu Tripathi said, “BPTP has made an application to the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida) for surrender of (the) plot and are awaiting the authority’s decision.”
The company said it made the application after the UP government, in its new policy, gave developers options to get their payment plan rescheduled and seek benefits of moratorium.
The policy had also allowed developers to surrender the plot after paying a penalty of 10 per cent of the amount that it had deposited to the authority. The company will, however, not get the balance amount and instead will be offered land after paying the penalty. The government has given time till June to developers to submit their proposal to surrender their land.
In 2008, BPTP had baggeed the 95-acre plot beating rivals, including DLF, Omaxe and Ansal Properties, surprising industry observers.
A BPTP spokesperson said the company has already paid about Rs 1,300 crore (it had bid for the land at the rate of over Rs 1.30 lakh per sq m) and has applied for retaining about 25 per cent of the land that it has paid for. However, it is not known at what per sq metre rate the government will provide the land.
The company had to pay the total amount through six monthly instalments over eight years and had sought an extension for its second instalment that was due in September 2008.
According to a source in the Noida Authority, some more developers may follow BPTP as the market value of the land bought in the last two-three years has come down drastically. Sale and purchase of land and buildings have almost come to a standstill in Noida as well as Greater Noida. People are waiting for the prices to fall further before they make a move.
