From being a college dropout who forayed into the hospitality and construction industry and went on to become a real estate magnate,Shahid Usman Balwa,36,has risen meteorically in a manner that has been as intriguing as it has been rapid. Balwa,managing director of DB (Dynamix Balwas) Realty,figured as the youngest billionaire on the Forbes list of Indias100 richest people in 2009. Balwa was arrested by the CBI on Tuesday on charges of routing kickbacks received by former Telecom Minister A Raja from the spectrum sale into the real estate business. He is alleged to have routed Rs 214 crore to Kalaignar TV,a channel run by the family of DMK chief M Karunanidhi. In return,he allegedly received an undervalued spectrum deal,45 per cent of which was then sold off to a Dubai-based firm,Etisalat. Balwa is India director of Etisalat DB (formerly Swan Telecom). Balwa draws a monthly salary of Rs 10 lakh in addition to perks. He is married with two children and lives at Aaliya Manor at Almeida Park in Bandra. He is said to be a fitness fanatic. From a small town in Gujarat,he had moved to Mumbai with his family to run a restaurant. He had dropped out of college to become a hotelier and then forged a partnership with Vinod Goenka,also a college dropout,to form DB (Dynamix Balwa) Realty in 2007. Today,the company has a net worth of Rs 3,120 crore,making it the third largest realty firm in the country. In 2009,when Balwa was 50th on the the Forbes list of Indias 100 richest,he had an estimated net worth of $1 billion. Goenka too featured on the richest list,one spot higher at 49. Goenka has a dairy business in Baramati,Maharashtra,home borough of NCP chief Sharad Pawar The phenomenal growth of DB Realty is as intriguing as Balwas. Having officially come into being only four years ago,the listed company today has 61 million sq ft of saleable area,a land reserve of 30 million sq ft in Mumbai,Thane and Pune,and 25 new projects,mostly luxury residences,in various stages of completion or approval. It is also a major trader of transfer-of-development rights (floating FSI) and is expected to generate TDR to the tune of 17 million sq ft through its slum rehabilitation projects. DB Realty was formed after the merger of two groups,headed by Goenka and Balwa respectively. They had developed projects such as Yashodham and Gokuldham in Goregaon,Vasant Vihar in Thane,Orchid Tower and Le Meridian Hotel individually,and DB Mall and Shagun Arcade jointly. Real estate sources say that several recent government decisions have boosted the staggering growth of DB Realty. The group has bagged a major chunk in the redevelopment of the 95-acre Bandra Government Colony where,in return for redeveloping buildings,the company gets to profit by constructing 1.04 lakh sq m of residential and commercial space. It has also been sanctioned an unprecedented FSI of 6.29 for a proposed 135-storey service apartments-cum-luxury hotel on Charni Road that would be managed by Park Hyatt. DB Realty says Balwa has been wrongly implicated and is not involved in anything illegal. Balwa has been implicated wrongly in the investigations pertaining to the grant of 2G licences, the company said in a statement. It said neither Balwa nor the company had done anything inappropriate or illegal and they will strongly contest the proceedings and are confident that ultimately he will stand vindicated as truth will prevail. The functioning of DB Realty Ltd will not be affected (by the arrest) in any manner,the company said,adding business will be continued in the normal way under the other managing director,Goenka,and their team. Etisalat has said it has no involvement in the scandal. (Inputs by Sanjeev Menon in New Delhi)
