Government agencies, which own these plots, are trying to cash in on the astronomical price of land in these areas by either selling off or auctioning the plots.

For instance, Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NITA) that administers Sector V is mulling the option of auctioning off its many vacant plots in the state's most soughtafter IT hub.

"We are yet to decide on how to distribute the plots. Either these could be sold at their market price or auctioned," said NITA chairman S A Ahmed. The current market value of Sector V's industrial plots is estimated at Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore per cottah. Nearly 150 plots are lying vacant in Sector V. Many of these were leased to companies that never utilised those and none has been reallotted yet. A committee, under chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb, has been formed to look into the distribution of plots.

The trend began in 2005 when a 6.2 acre plot off Bypass and owned by KMDA was auctioned off for a whopping Rs 209 crore for building a hotel.

Last year, KMC mopped up Rs 155 crore for a five acre plot near Science City. This week, Life Insurance Corporation bought a KMC owned five acre plot off the EM Bypass for an astronomical sum of Rs 276.2 crore.