Panaji: The Mormugao Port Authority has drastically slashed lease rates for five land parcels and three premises, reducing rates by close to 80% in one instance, in a bid to attract tenants after years of failing to lease out idle properties.The new scale of rates, notified for 2026-2031, marked a sharp reversal from previous rates and came after the port admitted it “could not succeed in leasing” these properties despite multiple attempts, leaving them “idling without generating any revenue”.“The new rates were revised downwards even though the validity of existing rates for land did not expire. We reduced land lease rates by 40-50% on several land parcels based on market responseIn one case, Baina playground, the rate was slashed by almost 80%. This was because the lease rates were earlier fixed uniformly without considering the land use,” said MPA chairman N Vinodkumar.For the sports academy at Baina, the new rate is just Rs 100 per sqm per month for the building, a stark contrast to the Rs 351 per sqm approved in 2021. The 21,240sqm football ground at the sports academy property was slashed even more dramatically from approximately Rs 334 per 10sqm in 2021 to just Rs 75 per 10sqm, a reduction of approximately 77%. For the traffic operation building inside the custom bound area at the harbour, rates were cut from Rs 316 per sqm per month in 2021 to Rs 200, a 37% reduction.The only place where the port marginally hiked the rental rates was at the commercial complex building at Vasco railway station, where the rate went up by 8%. The rates for the old MPA hospital and staff quarters, the Baina workshop, and the port institute land adjacent to Swatantra Path all saw a substantial reduction in lease rates.“Playground cannot be equated with commercial land. The revised rates were approved by the board. This is to ensure that the vacant land is monetised and also not encroached,” said Vinodkumar.The port consulted approved valuers to arrive at the new rates, which will remain valid for five years from 30 days after the notification. Land rates will escalate at 2% per annum, while premises rates will increase by 5% annually. Port authorities said that they want to unlock revenue from assets that remained unused despite the port’s asset monetisation efforts.
