A tea and gutka seller, Sonu Kumar Jha, has made the highest bid of Rs 3.25 lakh per month rent, about 1,203 per cent higher than the base amount, for a 7.59-metre kiosk located in the upscale Sector-18 market of Noida.
The auction for the kiosk K-3 was conducted by Noida Authority along with six other kiosks earlier this month under its “allotment of commercial kiosk” in the Sector-18 market. The base rent of these kiosks was kept at Rs 27,000 per month.
The kiosk K-3, for which Jha has bid, is located near triangle park in front of the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's in the Sector-18 market.
Jha, who sells gutka and tea along with his other family members, was among the 20 contenders who participated in the auction process.
Officials said that Jha will have to deposit 14 months’ rent in advance, which roughly amounts to Rs 45 lakh, to the Noida Authority to get possession of the kiosk.
Sonu and his family are now the topic of discussion among people as to how a gutka seller was able to make a bid of Rs 3.25 lakh per month for the kiosk.
“People don’t believe it but it’s true. I am happy that I was successful in the bid. I know it is a big amount but while participating in the bid I was only thinking about the business I will get from this kiosk,” Sonu told Moneycontrol.
He, however, did not reveal how he will manage to deposit an advance of Rs 45 lakh to the Noida Authority.
“I am yet to get the papers and keys of the kiosk so I don’t want to comment on how I will manage payment of this amount. I will speak on this point only after getting possession of the property,” he said.
Sonu’s father Digambar Jha
(65) came to the city 26 years ago from Darbhanga in Bihar and set up his tea stall in Sector 18.
“I came here in 1997 from Darbhanga for a better future and started selling tea and gutka here. I always wanted to have my own shop here but it was only a dream. When the Authority built these kiosks a few years back then I decided to lease out one and open a fast food joint there. That dream has been fulfilled now,” an emotional Digambar Jha said.
Jha, who lives in Atta village in Sector 27 of Noida said a lot of footfall is seen in the market, especially during weekends, so the possibilities to earn a good revenue are bright.
“We have different plans to recover the rent amount and make a profit out of it. These include the sale of different types of food items including Chinese food, snacks and beverages like juice and shakes. We may also sub-let the kiosk to other vendors and earn rent from them,” he said.
He said that the business will be set up in a fortnight after getting possession of the kiosk.
Officials of the Noida Authority were also surprised by the tremendously high bids for the kiosk K-3 for which the base rent was only Rs 27,000 per month.
Kumar Sanjay, OSD Commercial at Noida Authority, said that such an encouraging response was a good sign for the authority, which hopes to realise a revenue of over Rs 1.3 crore from these kiosks in the Sector-18 market.
He said that the scheme to lease out 10 kiosks in the Sector-18 market was launched on December 2 last year and the last date of it was December 31. The scheme included kiosks K-3, K-7, K-8, K-9, K-12, K-13, K-14, K-15, K-16 and K-17 of sector 18 market for allocation. The auction of seven out of 10 kiosks was done on January 10, 2023.
“Kiosk K-3 witnessed the highest bid of Rs 3.25 lakh per month while the base rent was Rs 27,000 per month. Prime location and competition among bidders are one of the driving reasons behind such a high bid. There were 20 bidders for this kiosk but Sonu won the bid by agreeing to pay Rs 3.25 lakh per month,” Kumar said.
Another Noida Authority official said that the other six kiosks were also allotted at much higher prices than their base rents.
“Due to heavy demand, the rates of commercial properties have skyrocketed in the upscale market of sector 18. In the auction of kiosks in sector 18 two kiosks were leased out for Rs 70,000 per month, one at Rs 1.80 lakh per month, one at Rs 1.03 lakh per month and the other two at monthly rentals of Rs 1.90 lakh,” an official said.
They said that three kiosks located in the sector-18 market are still to be auctioned as those had received less than three bidders.
