Story of Devanahalli & Rajarhat farmers: Minting money from sale of land
BANGALORE
Neenu Abraham
From the time she can recollect, Narayanamma has worked as a maid in the house of Vinod John, an agriculturist, who lives with his family in Hebbal, about 10 km from Bangalore. Until some years ago, Narayanamma would take leave when the rains arrived to go back to her village to sow ragi seeds on her four-acre plot in Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bangalore. But lack of ground water forced her to give up farming and become a full-time maid.
Then the Bangalore International Airport came up near Devanahalli. Soon, MNCs started buying land in and around the town. What was worth Rs 20,000-40,000 an acre skyrocketed to at least Rs 5-6 crore in a matter of months. "Narayanamma, who had never seen more than Rs 1,000 in her life, had property worth Rs 40-50 crore. She had enough money to buy my entire property," says John.
Hot Wheels
While John's family helped Narayanamma invest her money, her neighbours weren't that lucky. After cutting lucrative deals with real estate agents, they started buying SUVs, with Toyota's Innova being the hot favourite. "If you drive through the interior parts of Devanahalli and Hoskote, you may even spot a newAudi parked near a cowshed," says John. Narayanamma describes how her neighbours replaced their thatched, cowdung-plastered houses with marble floors and cement roofs. "Many of the women started buying gold jewellery," she says.
Chinnaswami, who sold his small parcel of land in Devanahalli, never got past middle school. He claims to be a real estate agent, like many of his friends. Many residents, who were unemployed and had to wait for the rains or the grape-picking season to find some work, turned real estate agents overnight. Some farmers who were quick to realise that they were sitting on a pot of gold started selling small parcels of land. "They became local chiefs overnight, calling themselves Patels," says a real estate broker. "They started offering loans to small farmers. Subsequently, they started buying their land," he says. The rise of these "Patels" has created a land mafia in the region. The smaller farmers are now at the mercy of this network.
In Land We Trust
Many farmers sitting on idle cash started investing in land in the vicinity. Some started buying land in the neighbouring Tumkur district where prices were still as low as Rs 4-5 lakh an acre. "The sight of farmers from Devanahalli and Hoskote coming in their huge SUVs is common in Tumkur," says Siddaganga Gowda, a farmer. But what about savings? Chinnaswami doesn't trust the banks. So he invests in land. A good part of hissavings is invested in gold jewellery. It is easy to identify the areas where farmers have struck gold, says Chinnaswami. "Just look out for the SUVs," he says.
KOLKATA
Rajarhat: New Town's New Money
Anuradha Himatsingka
Nizamuddin Molla is on cloud nine. He, along with his brother and father, owns a black, air-conditionedMahindra Scorpio, the latest BlackBerry and flaunts designer accessories. His four-year-old nephew studies in one of the top schools. He is a regular corporate executive, you would say? No. Molla was a teacher in a higher secondary school till 1997.
And, more importantly, the 33-year-old and his family owned land. After selling some 60 kathas (1 katha is approximately 720 sq ft), the family bought a 200-sq-ft shop on the roadside and started supplying building materials. "With construction work for large-scale residential, commercial and infrastructure projects in and around this area taking off in a major way, it made business sense to start supplying building materials. We also bought more land in and around the area and today own some 200 kathas. Subsequently, we took up real estate broking," says Molla.
Investment vs Spending
He is among the Rajarhat farmers who wisely used the cash from the sale of land. This has resulted in the rise of a new breed of small- to mid-sized entrepreneurs — primarily farmers-turned-businessmen who cannot speak English, are not experts in accounts, and are unlikely to be seen in business suits. Yet, these lesser-known local entrepreneurs own good apartments and at least a hatchback, use branded lifestyle products, have enrolled their children in reputed schools and spend weekends shopping and dining at malls with family.
The flip side: a section of Rajarhat farmers has blown up the compensation on cars and gadgets. Today, they struggle to make ends meet, working as maids, janitors, sweepers, security guards and peons in the apartments, offices and malls that have come up on their lands. Some middle-class farmers of Rajarhat have become labourers. This fall in social status agitates them. "I couldn't get a proper match for my daughter and had to marry her off to a fish monger. Had I remained a farmer, I would have got her a groom from a land-owning family. Our relatives shun us now and we feel like outcasts," says Nashir Ali, whose five kathas of farmland was taken over four years ago. He's now a vegetable vendor.
Source : ET BUREAU
Narayanamma, a maid in Bangalore till recently, now has property worth Rs 40-50 crore on the outskirts of Bangalore.
BANGALORE
Neenu Abraham
From the time she can recollect, Narayanamma has worked as a maid in the house of Vinod John, an agriculturist, who lives with his family in Hebbal, about 10 km from Bangalore. Until some years ago, Narayanamma would take leave when the rains arrived to go back to her village to sow ragi seeds on her four-acre plot in Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bangalore. But lack of ground water forced her to give up farming and become a full-time maid.
Then the Bangalore International Airport came up near Devanahalli. Soon, MNCs started buying land in and around the town. What was worth Rs 20,000-40,000 an acre skyrocketed to at least Rs 5-6 crore in a matter of months. "Narayanamma, who had never seen more than Rs 1,000 in her life, had property worth Rs 40-50 crore. She had enough money to buy my entire property," says John.
Hot Wheels
While John's family helped Narayanamma invest her money, her neighbours weren't that lucky. After cutting lucrative deals with real estate agents, they started buying SUVs, with Toyota's Innova being the hot favourite. "If you drive through the interior parts of Devanahalli and Hoskote, you may even spot a newAudi parked near a cowshed," says John. Narayanamma describes how her neighbours replaced their thatched, cowdung-plastered houses with marble floors and cement roofs. "Many of the women started buying gold jewellery," she says.
Chinnaswami, who sold his small parcel of land in Devanahalli, never got past middle school. He claims to be a real estate agent, like many of his friends. Many residents, who were unemployed and had to wait for the rains or the grape-picking season to find some work, turned real estate agents overnight. Some farmers who were quick to realise that they were sitting on a pot of gold started selling small parcels of land. "They became local chiefs overnight, calling themselves Patels," says a real estate broker. "They started offering loans to small farmers. Subsequently, they started buying their land," he says. The rise of these "Patels" has created a land mafia in the region. The smaller farmers are now at the mercy of this network.
In Land We Trust
Many farmers sitting on idle cash started investing in land in the vicinity. Some started buying land in the neighbouring Tumkur district where prices were still as low as Rs 4-5 lakh an acre. "The sight of farmers from Devanahalli and Hoskote coming in their huge SUVs is common in Tumkur," says Siddaganga Gowda, a farmer. But what about savings? Chinnaswami doesn't trust the banks. So he invests in land. A good part of hissavings is invested in gold jewellery. It is easy to identify the areas where farmers have struck gold, says Chinnaswami. "Just look out for the SUVs," he says.
KOLKATA
Rajarhat: New Town's New Money
Anuradha Himatsingka
Nizamuddin Molla is on cloud nine. He, along with his brother and father, owns a black, air-conditionedMahindra Scorpio, the latest BlackBerry and flaunts designer accessories. His four-year-old nephew studies in one of the top schools. He is a regular corporate executive, you would say? No. Molla was a teacher in a higher secondary school till 1997.
And, more importantly, the 33-year-old and his family owned land. After selling some 60 kathas (1 katha is approximately 720 sq ft), the family bought a 200-sq-ft shop on the roadside and started supplying building materials. "With construction work for large-scale residential, commercial and infrastructure projects in and around this area taking off in a major way, it made business sense to start supplying building materials. We also bought more land in and around the area and today own some 200 kathas. Subsequently, we took up real estate broking," says Molla.
Investment vs Spending
He is among the Rajarhat farmers who wisely used the cash from the sale of land. This has resulted in the rise of a new breed of small- to mid-sized entrepreneurs — primarily farmers-turned-businessmen who cannot speak English, are not experts in accounts, and are unlikely to be seen in business suits. Yet, these lesser-known local entrepreneurs own good apartments and at least a hatchback, use branded lifestyle products, have enrolled their children in reputed schools and spend weekends shopping and dining at malls with family.
The flip side: a section of Rajarhat farmers has blown up the compensation on cars and gadgets. Today, they struggle to make ends meet, working as maids, janitors, sweepers, security guards and peons in the apartments, offices and malls that have come up on their lands. Some middle-class farmers of Rajarhat have become labourers. This fall in social status agitates them. "I couldn't get a proper match for my daughter and had to marry her off to a fish monger. Had I remained a farmer, I would have got her a groom from a land-owning family. Our relatives shun us now and we feel like outcasts," says Nashir Ali, whose five kathas of farmland was taken over four years ago. He's now a vegetable vendor.
Source : ET BUREAU
