Considering M3M's land dispute, YEIDA outlines a set of rules for land allotment

The Uttar Pradesh government has postponed the cancellation of commercial plot allotment in Noida to M3M group companies Lavish Buildmart and Skyline Propcon and decided to review the decision. amid the ongoing chaos over the allotment of plots to realtor M3M Group, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) has decided to procure new guidelines for auctioning the land before allotment of the same to realtors or businessmen.

According to the sources, if a single bidder shows interest to buy a plot in an e-auction even after two rounds of tendering, then the bid will be cancelled. In the case of M3M’s plots, The YEIDA has allotted two land parcels without e-bidding after two rounds as only one bidder (M3M) came forward for acquiring the land and the authority faced a loss of revenue in the deal.

The new set rules say, if one of the bidders participates in the first round of the e-auction, the scheme will be extended twice, each time by an additional seven days. If there is still only one bidder after these extensions, the plot is awarded to that bidder, provided their bid exceeds the reserve price.

As per the new rules of YEIDA, the authority wants a competition among different bidders, so as to prevent a financial loss to the government in the event that there is only one bidder.

The chief executive of YEIDA, Arun Vir Singh explained saying, “The objective of the new rules is to ensure robust competition between bidders and to avoid potential losses due to the presence of only one bidder during the e-auction. We propose that if there is only one bidder in the first round, the scheme’s deadline will be extended by seven days. If there is still only one bidder after this extension, the deadline will be extended for another seven days. If, by the end of these two extensions, there are two bidders, the plot will be awarded to the highest bidder.If there is still only one bidder, Yeida will be cancel the bid and reissue the tender.”
The officials of YEIDA mentioned that, they would take the new proposal to the board, which is set to meet on June 21. The policy of regarding allotting of plots to a single bidder after rollover periods is also in place in Noida and Greater Noida authorities.

According to the government order, the companies had secured the land parcels by increasing their bid quotes by just Rs.5 lakh over the reserve price. 
According to the officials of the company, the total cost of both the projects is estimated to be around Rs.5,500 crore with 45 per cent of the units already sold to 1,400 buyers who have made the investments.