Mumbai:The state-run National Textile Corporation (NTC) hasdecided to put four more mills in central Mumbai up for auction, a move thatcould push real estate prices through the roof. 

The NTC's proposed auction of four mills in Worli and Parelcould raise real estate prices in central Mumbai because developers areexpected to bid higher than-market rate for the around 40 acres ofprime land, freeing it for private developers in this land-starvedmetropolis. 

The state-run textile company has already raised aroundRs.20 billion from its first phase of sales from the auction of five millsafter the Supreme Court lifted the legal obstacle on the sale of Mumbai millland in March 2005. 

It now plans to bring under the hammer the 18-acreMadhusudan Mills, in Worli  the largest in Mumbai. The other mills are PoddarProcessors and Bharat Textile Mill, also in Worli, and Finlay Mill in Parel. 

The textile company is awaiting the government's nod toinvite bids from private developers. 

"Once we get the final nod from the state government,we will invite tenders," NTC managing director O.P. Agarwal told sources. 

Although Agarwal was not forthcoming on the amount thecorporation is expecting, property consultants are more than willing tospeculate. 

"Prices will be as high as, if not higher than,existing rates, with builders from outside Mumbai coming in for bids thistime," said Gopal Sanyal, a property consultant. 

"The three mills in Worli could fetch more than thegoing rate of Rs.20,000 per sq ft and the ones in Parel more than Rs.12,000 persq ft,"he said. 

Agarwal, however, admitted that prices have soared since thecompany last sold its mills. 

"Prices soared even over the period we sold our millsin the first phase. While we got Rs.7,000 per sq ft for the sale of the 14-acreMumbai Mills in Lower Parel (sold to Indiabulls), a months later we gotRs.15,000 per sq ft for the sale of the 4.9-acre-Kohinoor Mills in Dadar, bothin central Mumbai," the NTC top official said. 

The state-run textile company also plans to cash in on thebooming real estate and plans to develop the land on its own. 

"Plans are on to develop real estate on our own. Weplan to construct a 72-storeyed IndiaInternationalTradeTower in the 11.96-acreIndia United Mill No. 6 at Pravhadevi," Agarwal disclosed. 

Kohinoor Mills was sold to Navi Nirman Sena chief RajThackeray-Umesh Joshi partnered Kohinoor Constructions, which is building ashopping mall at the site. 

Real estate prices in Mumbai, which are among the highest inthe world, began to rise in 2004 and got a further boost when NTC auctioned itsfirst set of five mills in 2005. 

But environmental watchers are not amused with the boom. 

"The area is twice that of the Oval Maidan atChurchgate and thrice that of Cooperage, both among the only few green spacesremaining in the island city," said Sonia Fernandez of Bombay First, awatchdog body. 

"The state government's policy on the mill land islopsided. The city's infrastructure can no longer bear the burden of privatedevelopment. There needs to be some regulation in this madness," saidSonia. 

"The mills of Mumbai have played a major role in theindustrialisation of Maharashtra. But the saleof these mill lands remains a contentious issue because some of the 600 acre ofmill land was initially meant for public amenities and low-cost housing," hesaid.