RUA 2025-(wl-7830)-Local Developers, Fragmented Development and Perils of Governance: Political Economy of Urban Land-grabbing in India

In the Indian context, the involvement of local developers in land grabbing strategies and the ensuing effects within informal land markets have received limited research attention. The present study investigates the incidence of land gabbing and development by local developers in the distinctive informal land markets of the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). The research entails the conduct of personal conversations, semi-structured interviews, and group discussions with land market actors in two key locations: Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad. The function of each actor is examined, including informants, brokers, developers, sellers, financiers, witnesses, buyers, government officials and politicians. The analysis reveals a strategic behaviour among local land developers, who are systemically buying vacant parcels of land as investments and for housing development (mostly unlawful and illegal) through land dispositions. The results indicate that the construction of dwellings, followed by land gabbing, has begun to influence land prices, which remain more affordable than the formal land market. Furthermore, the analysis underscores the intricate and interpersonal relationships that local developers have with the agricultural landowning castes in the neighbouring villages and the state apparatus. By circumventing the state's regulatory authority over land transactions, this cooperative partnership significantly influences the proliferation of illegal colonies and property prices. The case underscores the necessity of a comprehensive understanding of the relationships among stakeholders, regulatory frameworks, and market dynamics to effectively address the complexities associated with governance, development and informal land markets and also to recognise their potential advantages in the context of rising property prices.