Top 9 Landlords Who Own Mumbai

In a city where almost half the population lives in slums and has turned its back on a razor-sharp roof over its head, there are people who control large swaths of land that were either passed down decades ago or gifted to them. This is a place where land is scarce and every square foot of space fetches a huge premium.

The city holds many secrets at its core, one of which is the identity of those who own land in Mumbai.

Who are they and how much do they own?

It was never Aamchi Mumbai for us. It was theirs from the beginning!

According to a 2015 preliminary survey conducted by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), just nine private landowners and trusts own about 19.4%, or nearly one-fifth, of Greater Mumbai.

Here’s a check for 6,600 acres of ‘real estate’! While we are focusing on stocks, they have already started investing in real estate.

Mumbai’s largest landowners:

Was it real or was it violated?

Not all land acquisitions are legal. Some companies have encroached on acres of land to claim it as their own. Below is a list of those entities and how they acquired land in their names decades ago.

Godrez & Voice

SRA has acquired around 300 acres of land and Godrej Group estimates that its extensive land holdings have made it one of the leading real estate players in Mumbai.

The Godrej family acquired the land from the Bombay High Court trustees in the early 1940s. Initially given by the East India Company in the 1830s to the Parsi merchant Framjee Banaji, the land became available for sale in 1941-42.

FE Deanshaw Trust

In the 1970s, the trust managed about 1,500 acres, but much of it was later taken over by the government under urban land cap laws.

The Forest Department then secured about 800 acres and Mhada secured an additional 65 acres for low-cost public housing.

AH Wadia Trust

In the early 20th century, the Kama family of Samachar, Mumbai, which managed the trust, owned a one-third stake.^rd Land of Chembur.

Ardeshir Hormusji Wadia acquired the lease of Kurla in the early 19th century at a rent of Rs 3,587 per annum, which is now largely encroached upon.

Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Group

Sir Byramjee Jeejeebhoy, a 19th-century Parsi philanthropist, received seven villages totaling 12,000 acres from the East India Company in 1830.

He also owned Bandra Land’s End, where the Taj Hotel now stands.

Sir Mohammed Yusuf Kot Trust

Khot, an educationist, philanthropist and owner of the Bombay Steam Navigation Company in the early 20th century, leased most of his land to private companies such as L&T in Powai.

Trust lands in Bhandup and Kanjur were completely occupied by slum dwellers.

VK Lal

In the late 19th century, the Agboatwala family owned 3,200 acres of land in Dahisar. But the government allocated about 800 acres to local cultivators, 644 acres were sold at public auction after a family dispute, and 700 to 800 acres were purchased for a national park.

According to SRA estimates, 70-100 acres held by VK Lal Properties in Kandivli have been encroached.

All the nine companies mentioned own land in areas like Kurla, Bhandup, Vikhroli, Deonar, Malad and Goregaon, which proves that there is no business as good as land business.

Want to stay in Mumbai?

Written by Shivani Singh

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