The real estate market in Punjab's major cities is set to heat up as the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) prepares to e-auction properties valued at Rs 2,000 crore across the state, starting from August 29 until the end of September.
This auction comes nearly a year after the National Informatics Centre (NIC) highlighted security vulnerabilities in PUDA's auction portal, leading Chief Secretary Anurag Verma to direct the department to address these issues before proceeding.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also oversees the housing department, has instructed officials to conduct the auctions to generate funds for land acquisition and infrastructure development.
To ensure security, PUDA has partnered with Railtel Corporation of India, a government agency with experience in conducting e-auctions. In line with government directives, all e-auctions must be hosted on platforms certified as fully secure by the NIC and the Department of Governance Reforms.
The auction includes commercial, group housing, and residential properties in urban estates of Mohali (Rs 1,242 crore), Bathinda (Rs 82 crore), Ludhiana (Rs 170 crore), Jalandhar (Rs 250 crore), and Patiala (Rs 175 crore). A senior government official mentioned that the properties may fetch even higher prices depending on market response. However, these properties are separate from those listed under the state's Optimum Utilisation of Vacant Government Lands (OUVGL) scheme.