61 Sahara properties to be e-auctioned

Sebi roped in HDFC Realty and SBI Cap after being asked by the Supreme Court to initiate the process of selling Sahara properties whose titles have been deposited with it by the group

Tasked by markets regulator Sebi to sell land parcels of Saharas, HDFC Realty and SBI Capital Markets have initiated the process for e-auctioning 61 properties owned by the beleaguered group across the country.

While HDFC Realty has pegged the circle rate value of 31 properties to be auctioned by it at about Rs 2,400 crore (Rs 24 billion), SBI Cap would auction another 30 land properties with an estimated market value of about Rs 4,100 crore (Rs 41 billion).

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) roped in HDFC Realty and SBI Cap after being asked by the Supreme Court to initiate the process of selling Sahara properties whose titles have been deposited with it by the group.

Following a go-ahead from the Court, the two entities have put in place a mechanism to auction as many as 61 properties put together.

These properties are located in various states including Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Kerala, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

The assets being sold include land parcels, agricultural land as well as residential, commercial and industrial properties.

HDFC Realty said these "land parcels shall be available for sale through e-auction whose date will be declared through a public notice".

Besides, SBI Caps has prepared an information dossier having details of all 30 properties including location map.

"The entire auction process of these 30 properties would be completed in next four months and advertisement for the first five properties is likely to be published in this week," sources said.

As per the court directions, these properties cannot be sold at less than 90 per cent of circle rates.

After spending two years in jail, Sahara chief Subrata Roy is currently out on parole. He was sent to jail on the orders of the Supreme Court in a long running dispute with Sebi.

Photograph: PTI