Sahara properties to be auctioned at Rs 1,200-cr reserve price

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

Tasked by markets regulator Sebi to sell land parcels of Sahara, HDFC Realty and SBI Capital Markets will e-auction a total of 10 properties owned by the beleaguered group at a reserve price of nearly Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion).

HDFC Realty has been asked to auction a total of 31 land parcels at Rs 2,400 crore, while SBI Cap has been tasked to 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 these properties.

In a public notice issued on Thursday, HDFC Realty said it will e-auction as many as five land parcels on July 4 between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. These properties will fetch around Rs 722 crore (Rs 7.22 billion) at reserve price.

SBI Cap will also e-auction five land parcels on July 7 between 10.30 am and 11.30 am at a reserve price of Rs 470 crore (Rs 4.7 billion), it said in a separate notice.

These properties are located in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

The assets being sold include both agricultural and non-agricultural land.

Interested bidder can inspect these land parcels between June 8 and June 10.

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.