Blue Fox turns white elephant for Punjab govt

It was the second unsuccessful auction of Blue Fox,a tourist spot which is rented out from time-to-time as restaurant. Sources said,this time,too,the Corporation spent around Rs 30 lakh on advertisements in newspapers.

MC Commissioner Ravi Bhagat,while maintaining that Corporation was yet to receive the bills,puts the advertisements expenses for the auction at around Rs 20 lakh,tentatively.

The auction began at the total reserve price of over Rs 108 crore at the rate of Rs 51,000 reserve price per square yard. Among others,Bathinda DC Gurkirat Kirpal Singh was also present on the occasion along with Commissioner Bhagat.

In a bid to attract the buyers,the MC in the advertisements had invoked upcoming projects like International Cricket Stadium — it is another matter that even after three years since the foundation stone was laid by CM on his birthday on December 8,2007,not a single brick has been laid so far to construct the stadium—¿ Guru Gobind Singh Refinery,a five star hotel in the area,proposal for a domestic airport in Bathinda,two thermal plants (with an investment of Rs 10 thousand crore each) in 50 km vicinity of Bathinda and multiplexes and integrated township by leading real estate developers. The advertisement also listed in details the existing plants and institutions in Bathinda.

Ironically,it didn’t work for the MC and the two parties that turned up for the auction preferred to watch the proceedings as spectators before the auction was finally called off after a wait of three hours from its commencement.

The Blue Fox property was to be auctioned in four plot format,each having different dimensions. The MC now plans to auction the property in the form of 85 SCOs. “The district town planner had prepared an alternate proposal to sell the property in the form of 85 SCOs. We would now put the proposal before house in next meeting,” said Commissioner Ravi Bhagat.

Controversies and Blue Fox have run parallel. Most prominently,it hit the headlines after it was transferred to Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) for auction. In return,PIDB gave a Rs 40 crore loan to the MC. However,the court ordered a stay when auction of the property was in progress by PIDB around a couple of years ago.

Amid this development,the auction could not materialise even as a bidder had gone on to bid around Rs 60,000 against the reserve price of Rs 50,000 at that time. Lakhs of rupees spent by PIDB on advertisements had also gone down the drain at that time.

Later,the property was transferred back to MC with a rider that the Corporation would pay back the Rs 40 crore loan to PIDB after auctioning the property.