Mohali, June 21 -- The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) managed to sell only 17 out of the 72 residential and commercial properties that were up for auction. Among these, a school site in Ecocity-2, measuring 4.02 acres, fetched Rs.59 crore against a reserve price of Rs.57.9 crore. The highest bidder for the school site was Blue Wing Education Society. In all, GMADA was able to generate Rs.136 crore through the auction of these 17 properties. Two residential plots, measuring 500 square yards each in Sector 82, Alpha Block-B, IT City, were sold for Rs.6.87 crore a piece, surpassing the reserve price of Rs.6.35 crore. Similarly, a 300-square-yard residential plot in Block-A of Ecocity-1, fetched Rs.3.5 crore against the reserve price of Rs.3 crore. Residential plots, measuring 500 square yards, went for prices ranging from Rs.5.6 crore to Rs.6.87 crore, depending on their location within IT City and Ecocity-1. However, several sites remained unsold. These included 13 booths, 15 SCOs (shop-cum-offices), two hotel sites, two commercial sites, and a school site. GMADA chief administrator Vishesh Sarangal said, "The auction received a good response, and we are hopeful of selling the remaining sites in the next round." Shalinder Anand, former president of the Mohali property consultant association, attributed the tepid response to high reserve prices and market saturation. "The reserve prices are steep, and auctions are being held almost every month. There simply aren't enough buyers. Also, similar plots are available at lower prices in the open market," he said. In the April auction earlier this year, GMADA managed to sell only two group housing sites (totaling 12.23 acres) out of six offered (48.72 acres), generating Rs.403.75 crore in revenue. The reserve price for the six sites was set at Rs.1,214.52 crore. In contrast, GMADA earned record revenues in previous auctions. During the e-auction held from March 12 to 22, it collected Rs.1,986.82 crore from the sale of 368 properties. Similarly, a Diwali auction last year fetched Rs.1,893.80 crore from the sale of 345 properties....