Railways may not fix reserve price for Bandra plot

Mumbai: The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) of the Union railway ministry is considering the option of not fixing a reserve price for its prime plot at Bandra, which it has put up for auction for the fourth time in three years. DLF, Akruti City, HDIL, and Reliance Infrastructure are among the prominent developers looking to bid for the project at “fair value”.

Previous attempts to sell the land failed as builders termed the cost too high, especially during the economic slowdown. Last month, the RLDA put the 45,371 sq m plot up for auction for the fourth time.

So far, the RLDA has always fixed a reserve price for auction. But at the previous auction, it slashed the reserve price from Rs4,628 crore to around Rs3,900 crore.

Unlike the last time, however, when DLF emerged as the sole claimant for the land, this time a large number of realty firms have evinced interest in the plot.

Speaking on the various alternatives that the RLDA is looking at, a senior official from the authority said, “We are doing a preliminary assessment of the expressions of interest obtained from the builders. We are also looking at various models of development. Perhaps there may not even be a need to have a reserve price for the deal.”