By Mr. Kamal Manchanda, Founder & Director, Brand Realty Investors Group (BRIG)
A newly built highway, gliding down smooth roads, experiencing the sheer brilliance and magnanimity of sky-scraping buildings. Did you notice the efficiency of the modern rail system, the metro connectivity, mapping cities in a matter of minutes. This is just a bird’s eye view of the infrastructural revolution India is at the brink of. As for any economy, infrastructure forms the backbone of India’s economy too. In the anatomy of the country, infrastructure is as crucial as the circulatory system is to the body. And when infrastructure meets land, it creates what we call the land dividend: stable, enduring assets that not only appreciate but compound wealth over time.
Unlike built properties that wear out, land is adaptable, holding value through urban pivots, regulatory shifts, and economic cycles. Land thus remains the most enduring stores of wealth—scarce, finite, and resistant to depreciation. The key to this dividend is infrastructure. Roads, expressways, rail corridors, and logistics hubs transform raw land into highly desirable assets, turning once-remote stretches into bustling urban centers.
India, with its ambitious growth targets, recognizes the critical role of infrastructure development. The Indian Government has launched several initiatives to accelerate infrastructure projects across various sectors. India’s ongoing infrastructure revolution is reshaping land value dynamics:
- The Delhi–Meerut RRTS (Namo Bharat) corridor, spanning 82 km, has triggered land value surges of 30–67% along its route since becoming operational in October 2023.
- In Meerut, land prices have climbed from approx. ₹8,000–12,000 per sq yd to ₹12,000–20,000 per sq yd—particularly within a 2 km radius of RRTS stations, reflecting a 30–50% uplift in two years
- Developers report 35–40% broader land appreciation along the corridor, with hotspots hitting even 50%
- In Haryana’s Dharuhera, plot prices have soared nearly threefold—from ₹20,000 to ₹65,000-70,000 per sq yd between 2019–2025
- The upcoming Delhi–Alwar RRTS corridor, slated to begin construction in early 2026, and proximity to NH-48, are key catalysts attracting investor interest.
- Proximity to RRTS is fueling demand across property formats—plotted housing, gated townships, and mid-rises—while attracting commercial activity, education, and healthcare development
- The Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC)—a 135 km bypass linking Palwal to Sonipat—is expected to be complete by December 2027
- With direct access to the Dedicated Freight Corridor, HORC is projected to ignite logistics parks, container depots, and industrial zones along Haryana’s western corridor
- Already, a massive 500-acre site near Manesar, Gurugram has been identified for establishing a Disneyland-style themed park, signaling real-time development action
These infrastructure developments are not one-off bumps—they’re compounding motors:
- First wave: Basic infrastructure announcement or launch drive speculative buying and immediate appreciation.
- Second wave: Follow-on investments—new roads, rail stations, development policies—further revalue land as urbanization intensifies.
- Third wave: Full ecosystem activation—industrial parks, housing clusters, commercial zones—matures the asset into multi-sector value, sustaining and multiplying returns.
Haryana’s infrastructure, for example is already entering second-wave territory. Dharuhera’s threefold rise signals the beginning of exponential growth. Post-2027, HORC’s effect on industrial land will likely anchor even greater long-term compounding. Haryana’s rapid land value surge is only one example of how connectivity rewrites economic geography.
To truly benefit from this land dividend, investors must act with foresight and discipline by identifying pre-infrastructure nodes—areas notified for expressways, airports, or industrial zones—where early acquisition captures the steepest curve of appreciation.
They should plan with a 7–10 year horizon, as infrastructure cycles take time and patient holding unlocks compounding far more effectively than short-term flipping. Diversification across corridors is equally vital, ensuring that capital is spread over multiple infrastructure zones to balance risks and maximize exposure to growth. Professional structuring through SPVs, legal due diligence, and title verification becomes critical, especially as investments scale beyond ₹10 crore, providing clean ownership and scalability.
Finally, investors should engage in active stewardship by enhancing land through boundary marking, securing approvals, or leveraging interim uses like agriculture or warehousing to generate income while waiting for long-term appreciation.
Positioned at the intersection of foresight and execution, Investor Group helps investors capture the land dividend through a structured, legacy-focused approach.
- Early-Stage Entry for High Returns: Targets investments before mainstream market interest picks up, enabling compounding gains as infrastructure projects progress
- Due Diligence & Structuring: Our model emphasises legal vetting, approvals review, pricing assessment, and exit planning—crucial in states where infrastructure is booming and where title clarity and regulatory compliance underpin value creation
- Legacy Mindset: Underscores land as a tangible, sustainable wealth store—”Land… listens to time. It has history. It has patience.” This aligns with a long-term, compounding mindset suited to infrastructure timelines
India’s infrastructure revolution is not a distant promise—it is unfolding today, creating an opportunity for land investors. The true dividend of land lies not only in appreciation but in the power of compounding wealth over decades, fuelled by the unstoppable march of connectivity and urbanization.
For those with vision and discipline, plots purchased today along the path of infrastructure development will become the legacy assets of tomorrow, paying dividends in both capital and generational prosperity.
