Companies make a beeline for Jharkhand capital

Grindlays Bank and Standard Chartered Bank have conducted a survey of the real estate in this town with one aim — to open their branches. Same is the case with a score of domestic and multinational companies, including Nissin Foods Ltd, Frito-Lay India, Nestle (India) Ltd and the Calcutta-based Iron Rolling Mill Ltd. With their arrival in the market, multi-storeyed buildings are springing up fast and the prices of real estate which had slumped during the last decade have almost doubled in comparison to the 1998-99 index, making this town enter a period of economic mobility.

A decade ago, especially during 1992-98, when the Jharkhand movement was at its peak, the infrastructural facility for any kind of investment was at its lowest ebb and prices of real estate hovered between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 per square feet. This had made many industrialists and businessmen of the town look for greener pastures elsewhere in the country.

Chhotanagpur Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Sanjay Seth said on Tuesday, “With the Jharkhand state in the making, the potential of the area has increased manifold and investors would not like to leave it untapped.”

A senior officer of the State Bank of India on the condition of anonymity said: “The mineral-rich state has attracted many companies and banks because of the business potential it has.’

With the business prospect looking up, there is also a boom in the construction of multi-storeyed shopping, office and residential complexes in every nook and corner of this town. In addition, the corporate giants like the Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd, the Usha Martin Ltd and the Usha Beltron Ltd are reportedly exploring land for new projects.

According to Rajesh Mishra, Managing Director of the Sapphire Dwellings Private Ltd, a Ranchi-based construction company, there are at least 30,000 flats in the process of construction while at least 5,000 apartments are planned to be constructed in the next two years.

The prices of these flats and apartments which ranged from Rs 500 to Rs 800 per square feet in July now varies from Rs 650 to Rs 950 per square feet. “But the prices of the commercial space has increased by over 20 per cent during the past one month,” said Mishra.

But all is not well in the market. The fact that eight of the 18 districts, includung Ranchi, Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Dhanbad — infested with extremists where extortion, loot and murder are the order of the day — and that Jharkhand has been created for the tribals and not for the businessmen — made public by notable Jharkhandis like the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president, Shibu Soren and Jharkhand Vikas Party president Ram Dayal Munda — have created a sense of fear and apprehension in the market circle. If the attitude of the politicians is not growth-oriented, nobody will risk investment in this state,” said Seth.