Mumbai: Essar sells bungalow for Rs 185 crores at Worli to diamond merchant Dholakia

Essar Group sold a bungalow for Rs 185 crore at Worli Seaface in Mumbai to a Surat-based diamond merchant Ghanshyambhai Dhanjibhai Dholakia. Arkay Holdings Limited is the seller of the property who registered this deal on July 31 with Hari Krishna Exports Private Limited. The Panhar Bungalow is a 19,886 sq ft property comprising a basement, a ground floor, and six other floors. 

According to local brokers, the per sq ft costs around Rs 93,000 per sq ft. And one of the brokers mentioned that bungalows are rarely on sale in the Mumbai real estate market. 

Registration document details

As per the registration documents, two transactions have been made for a total sum of Rs 185 crore. First is the land lease assignment for the land measuring 1349 sq.m for Rs 47 crore (the market value is Rs 51.45 crore). Stamp duty at the rate of 5% has been paid on it which works out to be Rs 2.57 crore. A payment of Rs 36.5 crore has been directly made to Indiabulls Housing Finance for the land loan. 

The other registration documents of residential building for Rs 138 crore mention that a stamp duty at the rate of 6% has been paid which is around Rs 8.3 crore. A cess of 1% has been remitted (Rs 1.38 crore) and hence the balance stamp duty paid is Rs 6.91 crore. And direct payment of Rs 108.25 crore has been made to Indiabulls.

Earlier registration of the property

According to the documents, the land was first leased by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to Kubalaya Raj on October 13, 1941, for an annual lease rent of Rs 1 with the authority to him to construct a structure on it. 

It was later put in the market and found new buyers periodically. The documents further mentioned that the completion certificate for the present building was given by authorities in 2001.

Dholakia's rewards

In 2018, Dhanijibhai Dholakia's son, Savji Dholakia, rewarded three of his employees with gifts of Mercedes cars. Earlier in 2014, he gifted 500 flats, 525 pieces of diamond jewellery, and 200 flats to his employees as a Diwali bonus.

Maharashtra government on stamp duty reduction

To boost the stagnant real estate market amid the COVID crisis, the Maharashtra government on August 26, 2020, had announced a temporary reduction in stamp duty on housing units, from 5% to 2%, until December 31, 2020. 

The stamp duty from January 1, 2021, until March 31, 2021, was 3%. The Maharashtra government on March 31 said it would not extend the stamp duty waiver on property registrations and kept the Ready Reckoner Rates unchanged for the financial year 2021-22.

Real estate experts said that during the pandemic, the demand for independent houses in the uber-luxury segments costing above Rs 200 crore have increased. 

Ritesh Mehta, Head Residential Property Sales, JLL, said, “Due to limited availability of such bungalows in a city such as Mumbai, decent appreciation of such properties is expected over a period of three to five years". 

(Image credit: UNSPLASH/REPRESENTATIVEIMAGE)