Maruti to pay Rs 26 lakh per acre for plant in Gujarat

Maruti Suzuki India will be paying Rs 26 lakh per acre for the 700 acres of land it has been allotted in Hansalpur village of Ahmedabad district, where the company plans to set up its third car manufacturing unit, sources said.

This price is about 15 per cent less than the prevailing market rate.

The company on Saturday had announced to invest Rs 4,000 crore in buying land and constructing the plant after signing a formal agreement with the state government.

According to state government sources, the company will pay Rs 640 per square meter for the land. The company chose not to comment and a questionnaire sent to it remained unanswered.

"This piece of land in Mandal taluka of the district was acquired by the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (the nodal agency for promoting industrial development in the state) at prices ranging between Rs 300-500 per square metre at different points in time during the last one-and-a-half years," said a source.

Meanwhile, after Saturday's agreement between Maruti Suzuki and the state government, the prices of land in and around Hansalpur and nearby town of Becharaji in Mehsana district had risen by over 100% in just two days.

Speculative buyers jumped in to buy land surrounding the plant site. "Several ponzi schemes, offering buyers land on EMIs, have also sprung up in and around Hansalpur," a source said.

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