10/03/2013
The recent boom in the real estate market of Patna has surprised one and all. Notwithstanding global recession prices of commercial as well as residential properties have witnessed tremendous upward swing in the last couple of years. Patna was never known as prime destination to settle or invest for the people of other states largely due to lack of infrastructural facilities and absence of trade and industries in and around the city.
Even the original citizens of the city would love to move out and live elsewhere. “The real estate prices have appreciated more than 100 percent in last three years. Now the residential properties in the prime location are priced around Rs 3,000-3,500 per square feet whereas commercial space in malls varies from Rs 6,000 to 10,000 per square feet,” said a leading builder of the city, Rakesh Kumar Singh of Hope Frontline. “But this sudden rise can not be seen in isolation as the real estate was almost stagnant for more than a decade in Patna,” Singh added further.
The city would soon be blessed with at least three big shopping malls in different areas and the price quoted for sale varies from Rs 6,200 to Rs 10,000 per square feet, depending on their location. These rates are equal to the rates of Barakhambha Road in Connaught Place and Karol Bag areas of central Delhi. The first multiplexes constructed by the company owned by Prakash Jha would be ready with all modern amenities next year. This mall has a built up area of 2.25 lacs sq. ft.
The price raked up a controversy. This prime plot was priced at Rs 14 lacs per acre by the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA). The land could have been given to any builder on the basis of 50 percent share of the developed land as prevalent in Patna. The state coffer could have easily got Rs.62 crores in just three years or at least Rs 40 lacs per month as rent on the current market rate. The amount would have been enough to support resource starved Patna Municipal Corporation. When any entrepreneur with some risk can make such a fast buck, what prevented our government officials and agencies from marketing it. After all builders in Patna are developing land plots in remote areas close to Danapur and other places.
The government could have utilized this boom to use some of its encroached and vacant land to develop them as commercial space to give regular source of income to Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC). Any reputed national level builder will be interested in taking up these projects. Maurya Lok still remains the only commercial area with some open space for parking and movements. The sudden spurt in demand created an artificial rise in this sector. “Improvement in law and order, starting of a number of development projects have its immediate effect and people in Bihar largely invest their surplus in real estate. Even the corrupt officers too invest a large part of their income in real estate as it was evident in recent raids. Many officers are owning more than six to eight flats in the city.
This sudden rise have definitely dashed the hope of many middle class people to have their own flats in the city as now minimum cost for owning a flat is around Rs 20 lacs,” said Nanhe Prasad, the State Coordinator of the Builders Association. It is another matter that Rs. 24,000 crores is piled up in the banks of Patna, according to a recently disclosed RBI (Reserve Bank of India) report. This figure is more than that of NOIDA, Navi Mumbai, Surat and many commercial and industrial cities of India. “When we can have a list of BPL (Below poverty Line) people, what prevents Income Tax and other government departments from detecting as to whose money is flooding Patna” asked a CPIML activist Kamlesh Sharma.
Source:- indianrealtynews.com
