By Swati Sharma
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Mumbai’s Tycoons Enjoy a Good Life in Super Luxury Yachts
By Swati Sharma
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Mumbai’s Tycoons Enjoy a Good Life in Super Luxury Yachts
By Swati Sharma
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Mumbai’s Tycoons Enjoy a Good Life in Super Luxury Yachts
By Swati Sharma
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Mumbai’s Tycoons Enjoy a Good Life in Super Luxury Yachts
By Swati Sharma
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Mumbai’s Tycoons Enjoy a Good Life in Super Luxury Yachts
By Swati Sharma
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Anil Ambani placing an order for a Rs 200- crore super luxury yacht for his wife Tina has brought the spotlight back on the latest obsession of Mumbai’s rich and the famous. The irony is that none of the owners of these new symbols of uber luxury knows how to drive these yachts, and they’ve no parking space in India, for the country is yet to get a marina for private boats.
The race to own luxury yachts was kick- started by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in 1998, when he moored the 50- metre yacht Kalizma , earlier owned by Hollywood star Richard Burton, outside Gateway of India in Mumbai.
He now owns the 95- metre Empress of India , which, according to PowerAndMotorYacht. com, is powered by three 10,000- horsepower engines. He bought the supersleek yacht from a Qatari sheikh for what the website estimates to be Rs 575 crore. It first made headlines when Mallya hosted the entire F1 top brass led by Bernie Ecclestone for a party off the coast of Monaco.
The double- deck ‘ flybridge’ boat reportedly houses Mallya’s personal art collection, which includes a Renoir, a Chagall and a very large Husain. Each room offers extensive sea views and bathrooms have gold furnishings. The private deck has a jacuzzi that opens out into the sea.
Gautam Singhania of the Raymond textile chain got over 200 shipwrights to handcraft the Ashena , a 153- foot, tri- deck power yacht with a Burmese teak hull. It took five years to be built. But within two years of it officially becoming Singhania’s floating party zone in 2006, it is reportedly up for sale.
Luxury yacht companies are already scenting an opportunity.
Their enthusiasm was evident at this year’s Mumbai International Boat Show, where more than 120 international brands ( from Ferretti, the Ferrari of the yachting world, to Fairline and Sorenstam Ventures) vied for the attention of people like Jimmy Mistry, a collector of super bikes and big cars, who has acquired a super high- speed Sea Ray 175 Sport. Industrialist Rahul Bajaj also owns one of the beauties that fly on the waves.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, the company that represents Ferretti in India, says India may be at the base of the curve for the yacht market, but it promises to grow in the same way as luxury car models. “ Oldfashioned business tycoons did not believe in flaunting their wealth, but that is no longer true of the present generation,” says Dutta. “ They believe in showing off and not everyone can afford a luxury yacht, so owning one gives them membership of an exclusive club.” Dutta’s company has sold 80 yachts in the past seven years, but they are not anywhere as expensive as the super luxury boat that Mallya owns. The Ferrettis are in the range of Rs 5.5 crore to Rs 90 crore, but the cost can touch the sky if the fittings and embellishments are as lavish as those favoured by Mallya.
Ferretti’s Indian owners include Sunny Dewan Wadhawan, managing director of the real estate development firm, HDIL, who snapped up one for Rs 57 crore.
Godrej Group CEO Adi Godrej has a Ferretti 592, a flybridge yacht that can house up to 60 people and is fitted with the ultra- expensive Frau leather.
THE PRIVILEGE of owning the country’s first Ferretti belongs to Vinod Mittal, younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who acquired the yacht in 2001, the year Marine Solutions set shop in Mumbai.
UK- based Lakshmi Mittal owns the 262- metre Amevi , which is moored near his Mediterranean home. India, Norway, Gibraltar and Spain were among the stops Amevi made last summer. Mittal reportedly paid Rs 1,000 crore for the vessel, which includes a pool, gym and movie theatre.
Not everyone, though, is impressed by the way the market is growing. Shakeel Kudrolli of Aquasail Distribution Co., feels the market will have to move out of its obsession with luxury yachts. “ It’s a fad the market can’t sustain as India does not have a marina, nor does it have workshops for repairs and maintenance,” says Kudrolli.
These considerations aren’t stopping India’s richest from scouting for luxury yachts, for they can always dock their boats off Dubai or Monaco.
Govt Gets Strict on SIM Cards
By Kajol Singh
In the backdrop of mobile phones having Indian SIM cards and UAE’s Thuraya satellite phone being used by Pakistani terrorists during Mumbai attack last week, the home ministry on Wednesday asked the department of telecommunication (DoT) to quickly devise a mechanism for a “strict consumer verification” exercise and formulate a comprehensive policy on “monitoring and intercepting” sat phones.
The ministry’s concerns were conveyed to DoT after the issue came up for discussion in a highlevel meeting chaired by home minister P Chidambaram who reviewed all aspects of telecom having security implications.
The issue of use of Chinese mobile phone handsets — which do not have International Mobile Equipment Identities (IMEI) — also came up for discussion. Since it is the IMEI number that mainly helps agencies to trace the handset user, the intelligence agencies had recently pitched for a ban on Chinese handsets.
The minister was, however, informed that DoT, taking such concerns in mind, has already “directed all the access service providers to make provision of Equipment Identity Registry (EIR) so that calls without IMEI or Electronic Serial Number (ESN) or those with IMEI or ESN with all zeros are not processed, and rejected”.
Besides senior home ministry and DoT officials, the meeting was also attended by senior officers of IB, RAW and the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). The NTRO keeps track of technological aspects of intelligence in coordination with other agencies.
Sources in the ministry said that DoT had proposed to set up a National Surveillance Grid to create a centralised communication monitoring agency. The Grid would help remove multiplicity of authorities in telecom/internet/Voice Over Internet Protocol monitoring exercises as currently it is being done by different agencies, they added.
At present, interception of sat phones is a big problem in India as none of the international operators have a hub here. Since these phones — provided by operators like UAE’s Thuraya and a consortium led by Inmarsat — do not need interconnectivity with the network of any country’s domestic network, they can be used anywhere in the world without any hitch.
An official said that sat phones could be intercepted only with the help of the country where it is licensed, which is time-consuming and often ineffective. The problems of interception and the absence of hubs come because India does not provide licences for operating satellite phones on a commercial basis, he added.
After having discussed such issues, the ministry asked DoT to come out with a solution within a month so that the government could formulate a comprehensive policy on sat phone monitoring and interception.
As far as safety mechanism of SIM cards is concerned, the ministry suggested that DoT consider a system of “guarantor” for getting a new connection. The home ministry also suggested that DoT come out with a guideline, which makes it mandatory for SIM card vendors to take instant photographs of new customers using web cameras and to pass them on to the service provider with the reference number.
It was earlier proposed that the consumers can carry reference numbers of two existing mobile phone customers as “guarantors” for getting new SIM cards.
In the backdrop of mobile phones having Indian SIM cards and UAE’s Thuraya satellite phone being used by Pakistani terrorists during Mumbai attack last week, the home ministry on Wednesday asked the department of telecommunication (DoT) to quickly devise a mechanism for a “strict consumer verification” exercise and formulate a comprehensive policy on “monitoring and intercepting” sat phones.
The ministry’s concerns were conveyed to DoT after the issue came up for discussion in a highlevel meeting chaired by home minister P Chidambaram who reviewed all aspects of telecom having security implications.
The issue of use of Chinese mobile phone handsets — which do not have International Mobile Equipment Identities (IMEI) — also came up for discussion. Since it is the IMEI number that mainly helps agencies to trace the handset user, the intelligence agencies had recently pitched for a ban on Chinese handsets.
The minister was, however, informed that DoT, taking such concerns in mind, has already “directed all the access service providers to make provision of Equipment Identity Registry (EIR) so that calls without IMEI or Electronic Serial Number (ESN) or those with IMEI or ESN with all zeros are not processed, and rejected”.
Besides senior home ministry and DoT officials, the meeting was also attended by senior officers of IB, RAW and the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). The NTRO keeps track of technological aspects of intelligence in coordination with other agencies.
Sources in the ministry said that DoT had proposed to set up a National Surveillance Grid to create a centralised communication monitoring agency. The Grid would help remove multiplicity of authorities in telecom/internet/Voice Over Internet Protocol monitoring exercises as currently it is being done by different agencies, they added.
At present, interception of sat phones is a big problem in India as none of the international operators have a hub here. Since these phones — provided by operators like UAE’s Thuraya and a consortium led by Inmarsat — do not need interconnectivity with the network of any country’s domestic network, they can be used anywhere in the world without any hitch.
An official said that sat phones could be intercepted only with the help of the country where it is licensed, which is time-consuming and often ineffective. The problems of interception and the absence of hubs come because India does not provide licences for operating satellite phones on a commercial basis, he added.
After having discussed such issues, the ministry asked DoT to come out with a solution within a month so that the government could formulate a comprehensive policy on sat phone monitoring and interception.
As far as safety mechanism of SIM cards is concerned, the ministry suggested that DoT consider a system of “guarantor” for getting a new connection. The home ministry also suggested that DoT come out with a guideline, which makes it mandatory for SIM card vendors to take instant photographs of new customers using web cameras and to pass them on to the service provider with the reference number.
It was earlier proposed that the consumers can carry reference numbers of two existing mobile phone customers as “guarantors” for getting new SIM cards.
LAND TILLERS’ OUTBURST - A Singur in the Making
By M H Ahssan
Pataperumallapuram, a nondescript village in East Godavari district looked like a warzone on Tuesday with farmers and police fighting a pitched battle, with the former refusing to part with their land for the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ).
The revenue department’s haste in coercing them to part with the land for a mere Rs 3 lakh per acre has upset the farmers. “The promoters will in turn sell the land at Rs 40 lakh per acre to the big players ready to invest in KSEZ,” a village elder told TOI.
Highlighting the plight of small farmers, Gopalakrishna of district Rythu Coolie Sangham said they were unable to get cultivable land elsewhere at the amount that was being offered to them as compensation. The portbased multi-product KSEZ, coming up in nearly 10,000 acres, is set to wipe out 16 villages in U Kothapalli and Thondangi mandals. While the promoters (Kakinada Sea Ports Ltd, GMR group, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd of Delhi, besides the state government) claim that the KSEZ would catapult the district by attracting investments worth over Rs 50,000 crore, anti-SEZ activists are crying foul over the tall claims.
Stating that thousands of ryots, farm labour, fishermen and artisans have been displaced with the use of brute force, K Rajendra Kumar of Kadali Network, spearheading the movement against the SEZ, demanded that the land be reverted to the affected farmers. Sources said the administration deployed revenue and police authorities to illegally fence both the acquired as well as unsold land.
“The cardinal principle that cultivable land should not be converted to set up industries has been ignored in this land acquisition process,” KSEZ Vyathireka Porata Samithi convenor Ch Suryanarayana Murthy alleged. The KSEZ has already acquired 6,500 acres — 5,800 acres through consent award and the rest by invoking the Land Acquisition Act.
That the lands proposed to be acquired are fertile and there are other lands which are fallow and infertile which can be acquired is the contention of the ryots and the fishermen. “In Moolapeta village alone, ryots are in possession of nearly 4,700 acres which the promoters are eyeing,” Srinivasa Rao of district fishermen samakhya said.
Sources said the government shifted the KSEZ site in 2005 bowing to pressure from real estate lobby and political leaders — it had initially notified 10,000 acres in Kakinada rural, Pithapuram and Samalkot mandals. “There is a clear profit motive in setting up an SEZ, that’s why big industrialists enter it. Let the industries buy land directly from the willing farmers. Why should they sell it to the promoters who are acting more like real estate brokers,” Gopalakrishna said.
Joining the issue, Murthy said that besides police repression the administration facilitating unlawful registration of fertile land to KSEZ Pvt Ltd in itself is a gross violation of the SEZ Act. However, the promoters said that the SEZ once completed would change the entire economic scenario of East Godavari.
HC Directive Against using Force for Acquiring Land
A division bench of the AP High Court on Wednesday directed the state government not to use police force to take physical possession of land from farmers for the sake of the developer of the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ).
The bench comprising Chief Justice Anil Ramesh Dave and Justice R Subhash Reddy, while hearing a petition filed by KSEZ Vyathireka Porata Committee, wondered why the police were being used in this case. It, however, said it cannot restrain purchasers from taking possession of the land.
Appearing for the farmers, whose lands are now being taken away for KSEZ, senior counsel Bojja Tarakam said the KSEZ developer was seeking to take over land from farmers with the help of the police force.
When it was brought to the notice of the bench by the government counsel that the farmers themselves sold their lands to the developer, the bench said it cannot do much in such a situation.
Saying that the developer played a fraud on the farmers by purchasing from them the lands already notified by the government for acquisition, Tarakam sought such land transactions to be declared as invalid as they were done under coercion and during the pendency of a land acquisition notification.
Pataperumallapuram, a nondescript village in East Godavari district looked like a warzone on Tuesday with farmers and police fighting a pitched battle, with the former refusing to part with their land for the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ).
The revenue department’s haste in coercing them to part with the land for a mere Rs 3 lakh per acre has upset the farmers. “The promoters will in turn sell the land at Rs 40 lakh per acre to the big players ready to invest in KSEZ,” a village elder told TOI.
Highlighting the plight of small farmers, Gopalakrishna of district Rythu Coolie Sangham said they were unable to get cultivable land elsewhere at the amount that was being offered to them as compensation. The portbased multi-product KSEZ, coming up in nearly 10,000 acres, is set to wipe out 16 villages in U Kothapalli and Thondangi mandals. While the promoters (Kakinada Sea Ports Ltd, GMR group, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd of Delhi, besides the state government) claim that the KSEZ would catapult the district by attracting investments worth over Rs 50,000 crore, anti-SEZ activists are crying foul over the tall claims.
Stating that thousands of ryots, farm labour, fishermen and artisans have been displaced with the use of brute force, K Rajendra Kumar of Kadali Network, spearheading the movement against the SEZ, demanded that the land be reverted to the affected farmers. Sources said the administration deployed revenue and police authorities to illegally fence both the acquired as well as unsold land.
“The cardinal principle that cultivable land should not be converted to set up industries has been ignored in this land acquisition process,” KSEZ Vyathireka Porata Samithi convenor Ch Suryanarayana Murthy alleged. The KSEZ has already acquired 6,500 acres — 5,800 acres through consent award and the rest by invoking the Land Acquisition Act.
That the lands proposed to be acquired are fertile and there are other lands which are fallow and infertile which can be acquired is the contention of the ryots and the fishermen. “In Moolapeta village alone, ryots are in possession of nearly 4,700 acres which the promoters are eyeing,” Srinivasa Rao of district fishermen samakhya said.
Sources said the government shifted the KSEZ site in 2005 bowing to pressure from real estate lobby and political leaders — it had initially notified 10,000 acres in Kakinada rural, Pithapuram and Samalkot mandals. “There is a clear profit motive in setting up an SEZ, that’s why big industrialists enter it. Let the industries buy land directly from the willing farmers. Why should they sell it to the promoters who are acting more like real estate brokers,” Gopalakrishna said.
Joining the issue, Murthy said that besides police repression the administration facilitating unlawful registration of fertile land to KSEZ Pvt Ltd in itself is a gross violation of the SEZ Act. However, the promoters said that the SEZ once completed would change the entire economic scenario of East Godavari.
HC Directive Against using Force for Acquiring Land
A division bench of the AP High Court on Wednesday directed the state government not to use police force to take physical possession of land from farmers for the sake of the developer of the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ).
The bench comprising Chief Justice Anil Ramesh Dave and Justice R Subhash Reddy, while hearing a petition filed by KSEZ Vyathireka Porata Committee, wondered why the police were being used in this case. It, however, said it cannot restrain purchasers from taking possession of the land.
Appearing for the farmers, whose lands are now being taken away for KSEZ, senior counsel Bojja Tarakam said the KSEZ developer was seeking to take over land from farmers with the help of the police force.
When it was brought to the notice of the bench by the government counsel that the farmers themselves sold their lands to the developer, the bench said it cannot do much in such a situation.
Saying that the developer played a fraud on the farmers by purchasing from them the lands already notified by the government for acquisition, Tarakam sought such land transactions to be declared as invalid as they were done under coercion and during the pendency of a land acquisition notification.
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