Amritsar farmers cash in on realty boom

The unprecedented property boom in the Amritsar district has led to the migration of many of the farming community to nearby areas, where the real estate boom is yet to take place.

The farmers are selling their land on the outskirts of the city and are moving to areas like Ferozpur, Muktsar, Moga, Tarn Taran and Khem Karn, where the land is almost 9-10 times cheaper than here.

The main reason behind the boom is the Punjab government's decision to set up an SEZ in about 1,100 acres and the anticipation that in the near future trade through the Wagah border will flourish.

In Amritsar, land prices have appreciated by 50-60 per cent in "civil areas" in the past two years while on the outskirts they have almost doubled. On the main GT Road, land prices have gone up from Rs 40 lakh per acre to Rs 1.5 crore per acre in a year. On Airport Road, agricultural land is going at Rs 50-70 lakh per acre.

With talks on opening the Wagah land route for trade with Pakistan gaining momentum, land prices for the 28-km stretch between Amritsar and Wagah varied from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh per acre around six months ago, but are now around Rs 50 lakh per acre.

On the other hand, where a real estate boom is yet to take place, agricultural land prices in areas like Ferozpur, Moga, Tarn Taran and Khem Karn are at Rs 4-7 lakh per acre.

Talking to Business Standard, a farmer, Nirmal Singh, said, "I sold 1 acre of my ancestral agricultural land located near Wagah road for Rs 50 lakh and with the same amount, I bought 10 acres of agricultural land at Ferozpur, which was priced at Rs 5 lakh per acre. We are farmers, so ultimately our goal is to increase production and yield for which we need land."

He further added that 1 acre of land used to yield about 18-20 quintals of wheat. Now with increased area under cultivation he is hopeful to achieve 10 fold increase in the yield.

Similarly, other farmer, Sukhdev Singh, sold 5 acres of his agricultural land at Meerakot (near Airpot Road) at the rate of Rs 45 lakh per acre and purchased land at Tarn Taran at the rate of Rs 7 lakh per acre.

Sources said, "The farmers have also joined the bandwagon in order to encash opportunities created by the real estate boom which was fuelled the entry of real estate developers from Delhi like Advance India Projects Ltd, Omaxe Construction etc."

According to realty sources, around 2,500 acres of land is under development in Amritsar, of which 650 acres of land is being developed by the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA), 394 acres by the Amritsar Improvement Trust, and the rest by private developers and builders.

Major development is taking place along the National Highway 1.