New Nagpur's Land Boom: Values Skyrocket to Rs2 Crore per Acre
Nagpur: The ambitious Rs6,500 crore 'New Nagpur' project along the Samruddhi Expressway in Hingna taluka has transformed the quiet agrarian belt of Ladgaon and Godhani into a hotbed of real estate activity. What was once fertile farmland is now fetching astonishing values, with prices soaring to around Rs2 crore per acre within just three months.
The ripple effects of the project are being felt across neighboring villages, including Gumgaon, Wadgaon, Menkhat, Deoli, Sawangi, and others. Together, these villages form the wider circle around Ladgaon and Godhani, both of which fall under the Gumgaon Gram Panchayat.
Locals attest that the rate of appreciation is unprecedented, driven purely by the prospect of large-scale government acquisition for the proposed project. According to Gumgaon sarpanch Arun Deotale, the transformation has been dramatic. 'The land rates have almost doubled. Where earlier one acre used to cost around Rs50 lakh, it has now shot up to over Rs1.20 crore in Gumgaon,' he said. The demand is even sharper in prime pockets. In Gumgaon, the rates are now touching Rs2 to Rs2.5 crore per acre, depending on proximity to the land earmarked for acquisition.
For long-time landowners, the surge represents an unprecedented opportunity, though not all are willing to sell just yet. Pankaj Mute, whose family holds 20 acres in the acquisition zone, said the valuation of his land leapt nearly threefold. 'My land earlier was quoted for Rs80 lakh per acre, but since the last three months, some people have also offered Rs1.50 crore, but I refused. The rate is now around Rs2 crore,' he explained. Some of the lands in Gumgaon, which are close to Samruddhi as well as New Nagpur, are costing around Rs2.50 crore per acre.
Mute acknowledged that the Samruddhi Expressway had already primed the market for growth, but it is the New Nagpur project that created a speculative surge. 'Because of the development, especially the Samruddhi Expressway, the rates have seen a steady increase in Gumgaon, Ladgaon, and Godhani,' he said. Yet, even these figures pale in comparison to the prices commanded by Kotewada and Sumthana, which remain at the top of the regional property ladder. There, land is fetching about Rs3.5 crore per acre thanks to proximity to Jamtha, Samruddhi, and the presence of multiple real estate layouts and large projects. 'These villages are closer to Samruddhi and Jamtha and have been witnessing higher rates. Gumgaon and the further stretch have now seen an exponential rate hike but still not as much as Kotewada and Sumthana,' a villager explained.
The boom is also lifting smaller, less prominent villages. In Deoli and Sawangi, where land once traded for around Rs30 lakh an acre, current rates have touched Rs90 lakh. Farmers here anticipate further gains as those displaced by acquisition in Ladgaon and Godhani seek to reinvest nearby. Mute highlighted this shift, 'Ladgaon and Godhani were prominent agriculture-based areas. Most farmers live in Gumgaon and other nearby villages. Many farmers whose land will be acquired for the project would want to buy land in other nearby villages like Deoli, so the farmers from there have also increased the rates. When the acquisition is complete and the farmers have crores of rupees, they too will spend a high amount to buy land near their village rather than shifting to other locations.'
