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Bafna Motors sells a four-acre Navi Mumbai plot to Greenscape IT Park

Bafna Motors, a notable dealer of Tata Motors commercial vehicles located in Mumbai, has recently concluded a significant transaction involving the sale of leasehold rights to a prime 4-acre land parcel in the industrial area of Trans Thane Creek, situated within Navi Mumbai's Nerul locality. This strategic move, valued at an impressive sum exceeding Rs 145 crore, was executed in collaboration with Greenscape IT Park LLP. The background to this transaction reveals that Bafna Motors was encumbered with financial obligations, owing Rs 129 crore to the United Bank of India and an additional Rs 15 crore to Tata Motors Finance Solutions.

To resolve these financial commitments, Bafna Motors opted to enlist the assistance of Greenscape IT Park LLP, which generously agreed to discharge these outstanding loans on their behalf. The deal incurred a stamp duty of Rs 7.27 crore and was officially registered on August 28, according to documents accessed through CRE Matrix. Originally, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) had leased this land parcel to Spundish Engineers in 1977 for a duration of 95 years, commencing in February 1975. In 2004, the lease rights were transferred from Spundish Engineers (now TIL Ltd.) to Bafna Motors. To secure financing, Bafna Motors secured debt of over Rs 99 crore from the United Bank of India and Rs 20 crore from Tata Motors Finance Solutions against this property in January 2020.

However, due to challenges in repaying the loans, the United Bank of India initiated proceedings to recover the outstanding sums. In response, Bafna Motors submitted an application to the Debt Recovery Tribunal to redeem the property's mortgage. This application faced opposition from the bank. While the debt recovery tribunal deliberated on the interim application, Bafna Motors approached the Bombay High Court. The high court instructed the automobile dealer to settle the outstanding amounts owed to the United Bank of India by August 31, 2023. Greenscape IT Park LLP stepped in to fulfil this requirement and subsequently acquired the land parcel.

In recent times, land transactions have been gaining momentum, with various deals, including outright acquisitions and joint ventures, taking place in key property markets like Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. The region of Navi Mumbai, a satellite city adjacent to the nation's commercial capital, has particularly attracted attention for land parcel transactions characterized by escalating prices. This heightened activity is underpinned by developer enthusiasm, fuelled by the anticipation of major infrastructure projects, most notably the forthcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) and the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL).

The current upswing in the housing market segment has prompted more real estate developers to consider residential developments on their land parcels, whether part of their existing land bank or newly acquired. This strategic shift, observed nationwide over the past 18 months, reflects a concerted effort by developers to harness these assets, both those already held in their land banks and those newly acquired, to drive robust sales performance in the quarters ahead.

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