AYODHYA: The first phase of land allotment within the 1,407-acre wide greenfield township in Ayodhya has received an overwhelming response from the hospitality industry. The UP Housing Board earned a significant premium while auctioning the plots earmarked for hotels in the township. The response shows the pent-up demand from the private sector for freehold plots which are free from any kind of legal encumbrance. About 20 bidders came for 12 hotel plots that were floated recently.
The base rate for these 12 hotel properties was fixed at Rs 80,349 per square metre, which translates into Rs 7,467 per square foot. In response, interested bidders agreed to pay Rs 1.45 lakh per sqmt, fetching a premium of more than 180% to the housing board.
Officials said the process to hand over plots to the highest bidders is underway. “The names of bidders cannot be revealed since we have not given the allotment letters yet. But established names from the hospitality sector in the country came forward and made the initial deposit,” said superintendent engineer (housing board), Ayodhya division, PK Singh.
The properties ear- marked for setting up mutts, ashrams, dharamshala though could not generate the expected response and only 17 bidders came forward for 28 plots floated for auction.
Additional chief secretary, housing and urban planning, Nitin Ramesh Gokarn, said the much- awaited residential plot scheme will be floated by March next year and work to develop the basic infrastructure is underway at the site. The township is going to be developed in two phases.
While 653 acres of land will be developed in three years, the remaining 754 acres of land would be developed in the future. The housing board has already acquired 318 acres of land for the first phase by aggregating land in Manjha Shahanwajpur, Manjha Barhata and Manjha Tihura and the deadline to ac- quire the remaining land for the first phase is March 31, 2024.
Experts from the National Institute of Hy- drology, Roorkee, and Tata Consulting Engineers are expected to visit the site on December 14 along with urban planners to finalise the design and layout for green and blue infrastructure.
