These new-age landlords want more

MUMBAI: In the past, nations fought wars for control over land. In times to come, we will witness a different kind of war, individual’s endeavour to accumulate scarce land which will be the largest source of power. The scramble for land in the recent past has seen the emergence of half a dozen men, who hold between them an enormous 1,30,625 acres (537 sq km) enough to build a city bigger than Mumbai.

First on the list is Mukesh Ambani. With two special economic zones (SEZs), Mukesh controls 60,000 acres of land in two states. This includes 35,000 acres in Maharashtra under the Maha Mumbai project and 25,000 acres in Haryana.

Mumbai SEZ will be developed with an estimated investment of Rs 25,000 crore whereas investment in the Haryana SEZ would be around Rs 40,000 crore. The land owned by Reliance is more than half the size of Mumbai city. Of total land, only 15,000 acres will be used for industrial units. Current SEZ norms allow Ambani to develop whatever he wishes on the remaining 45,000 acres.

Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra holds about 24,460 acres of land. The largest chunk is under a 20,000 acre SEZ in Haryana. The government has given in-principle approval to the project. Chandra has also bought around 400 acres each in Bangalore and Kolkata.

In Greater Noida and Hyderabad, Unitech owns 140 and 180 acres, respectively. It also owns 1,000 acres in Gurgaon and 340 acres in Noida. Unitech is said to have acquired 2,000 acres in Chennai.

While SEZs have helped Ambani and Chandra own vast tracts of land, Subrata Roy has amassed his 20,000 acre empire without a single SEZ. Back in 2001, Subrata Roy asked his man Friday, Sunder Lal, who heads Sahara Infrastructure and Housing, to start acquiring land in excess of 100 acres in 100 shortlisted cities. By April this year, the company had around 9537 acres of land in various cities, according to Sahara. This land will be used for integrated townships. Sahara also claims to have acquired 10,000 acres in Maharashtra for its ambitious Aamby Valley project.

Anand Mahindra’s Mahindra Gesco owns around 10,000 acres. “We have 9,000 acres between three SEZs and another 1100 acres in Faridabad,” said Arun Nanda, V-C, Mahindra Gesco. These SEZs are located in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The SEZ in Chennai is operational. The Jaipur SEZ is expected to be developed within the next five years with an investment of around Rs 1,100 crore.

In Mumbai, Ajit Gulabchand’s Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) is planning to increase his land holding from the current 10,000 acres. It is planning to acquire 1,000 acres in Thane and Panvel. The 10,000 acres that HCC has is for a township project around Warasgaon Dam, near Pune. Last on the list is DLF’s K P Singh. The company is adding 2893 acres to its holding of 1372 acres.

Many other players are also buying land across the country. Sushil Ansal-controlled Ansal Properties, is one such player. It reportedly holds around 4,000 acres of land.

Other leading players

Anand Mahindra

Landholdings: 10,000 acres
Where: 9000 acres spread across Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu for SEZs, 1100 acres in Faridabad

Ajit Gulabchand

Landholdings : 10,000 acres
Where: 10,000 acres of land under an SEZ in Pune and about 1000 acres in and around Thane and Panvel

Kushal Pal Singh

Landholdings: 1,372 acres Where: Centred in and around Gurgaon. He is slated to add 2893 acres to his kitty