In 2022, nearly 50 bureaucrats invested in 2.023 hectares, approximately five acres of farmland on the outskirts of Bhopal, on a single day. Less than two years later, a government-approved bypass and land-use conversion sent the plot’s market value soaring 11 times, jumping from Rs 5.5 crores to over Rs 60 crores, according to a report.
According to the report in the Dainik Bhaskar newspaper, Immovable Property Returns (IPR) filed by IAS officers in Madhya Pradesh have revealed a large-scale land investment in Guradi Ghat village near Bhopal’s Kolar area. Nearly 50 IAS and IPS officers from across the country reportedly purchased plots there in one single day in April 2022.
The buyers included several IAS and IPS officers posted in Delhi, as well as officers belonging to the Maharashtra, Telangana, and Haryana cadres, according to the Dainik Bhaskar report. The sequence of developments following the purchase has drawn attention and raised eyebrows.
New Delhi-based Assistant Professor of Economics, Manisha Kadyan, took to X to call it “a classic abuse of position and power”. “Politicians face elections every five years but bureaucrats enjoy lifetime power and no real accountability… The value increased 11 times in two years. Classic abuse of position-power… Join civil services for nation service is the biggest scam sold to India. They serve themselves. The nation pays,” Kadyan posted on X.
Just 16 months after the purchase, in August 2023, the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved a Rs 3,200 crore Western Bypass project passing close to the land bought by these officers. The land at the time of purchase was designated as agricultural, and within 10 months of the Madhya Pradesh government approving the bypass, the land was converted into a residential area, according to the report.
The timing of these decisions has triggered questions because infrastructure projects and land-use conversions often lead to a sharp increase in property prices. In this case, land reportedly bought at agricultural rates later witnessed a massive jump in market value after the bypass approval and diversion clearance.
Following the bypass approval and subsequent land-use conversion, the value of the land reportedly jumped by nearly 11 times. Despite the land being reclassified for residential purposes, no housing society has been developed at the site so far. Under normal procedures, plots must first be allotted, or the land transferred to a registered society before any residential project can begin.
A single registration document dated April 4, 2022, was used to purchase 2.023 hectares of agricultural land and the transaction involved 50 shareholders collectively acquiring the property, Dainik Bhaskar reported. The land was registered at Rs 5.5 crore, though its reported market value at the time stood at 7.78 crore, the Bhopal-based newspaper reported.
In the Immovable Property Returns (IPR), the investment was described as an asset acquired by “like-minded officers”, according to the report. The records further showed that the 50 shares were linked to 41 individual buyers.
Sixteen months later, on August 31, 2023, the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved the Rs 3,200 crore Western Bypass project, whose proposed alignment reportedly passes within 500 metres of the land parcel.
In 2022, these five acres of land were purchased at a rate of nearly Rs 81.75 per square foot. The rate shot up to about Rs 557 per square foot after the diversion of land use in June 2024. As of 2026, the current market rate of the land is between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 per square foot. Hence, the market value of the land is estimated to be in the range of Rs 55 crore to Rs 65 crore.
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