Chandigarh, Jan. 29 -- The auction of plots in the newly developed Sector 56 Bulk Market will commence in the first week of April, aimed at relocating the long-pending marble market from Dhanas. Any trader will be eligible to participate in the auction. In addition to marble traders, furniture dealers displaced from Sector 54 will be eligible to bid for plots and booths in the new market. Spread over 44 acres, the Bulk Market is being developed at a cost of Rs.20 crore. The project features 191 one-kanal plots and 48 booth sites. Allottees will be allowed to construct a basement and three floors on the one-kanal sites. UT estate officer-cum-deputy commissioner of Chandigarh, Nishant Kumar Yadav, said: "We will begin the auction in the first week of April, and hopefully, within the next couple of months, the marble market will be shifted from Dhanas. Environmental clearance for the project is expected by the first week of February." Once the auction is completed, the administration will initiate the shifting of the marble market, which has been operating in Dhanas for several decades. The relocation process is scheduled to begin in May. The marble market will be moved to the Sector 56 Bulk Market, where a combined marble and furniture hub is now planned. The existing marble market in Dhanas occupies nearly 200 acres of agriculturally viable land, which will be vacated upon completion of the relocation. The market has been occupied by traders for over 30 years, despite the Punjab and Haryana high court declaring such temporary markets illegal and ordering their removal. The administration has decided to auction 200 one-kanal plots and 52 booths in the Bulk Market strictly on a leasehold basis, which will not be converted into freehold properties. The reserve price has been fixed at the prevailing collector rate of Rs.3 lakh per square yard. A floor area ratio (FAR) of 1.5 has been approved, though the estate department is exploring the possibility of increasing it....