Forbes Asia - October 2018

I

n the heart of New Delhi lies an exclusive, 5,800-acre enclave of sprawling colonial-era

mansions set back from broad, tree-lined roads. Known as the Lutyens Bungalow Zone,

at er the British architect Sir Edward Landseer Lutyens, who designed the neighborhood in

1912, it is the focal point of Indian power and prestige.

Home to the country’s prime minister, president and several high-ranking government and

military oi cials, it is also a much-coveted address among India’s superwealthy. While the bulk

of the area is government-owned, more than a dozen of the top 100 richest own expansive,

private estates there.

Intriguing street names include Prithviraj Road (named at er a 12th-century king, Prith-

viraj Chauhan) and Tees January Marg (30th January Road in Hindi, the day in 1948 when

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated). h e road houses Gandhi’s memorial, his last abode before

his death.

Delhi billionaires such as telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal and paints magnate Kuldip Singh

Dhingra have their primary homes in Lutyens, while for nonresidents such as steel barons

Lakshmi Mittal, who lives in London, and Sajjan Jindal from Mumbai, a Lutyens mansion

is an iconic addition to their real estate portfolios. Property billionaire and longtime resident

Kushal Pal Singh and his family seem to prefer Lutyens over anyplace else; Singh’s daughter

reportedly paid $65 million for her house in 2016, and his granddaughter snapped up a bun-

galow nearby for$75 million last year.

h e country’s British rulers commissioned Lutyens to create the neighborhood when

they decided to move the country’s capital from Calcutta to Delhi early in the last century.

h e layout is based on the so-called Garden City principles of a self-contained commune

encased within a greenbelt. It includes a central, ceremonial avenue bookended by the

President’s House (Rashtrapati Bhavan) and India Gate, a war memorial, surrounded by

government buildings and residential bungalows. h e architect is believed to have drawn

India’s 100 Richest

74 | FORBES ASIA OCTOBER 2018

BY MEGHA BAHREE

Location,

Location,

Location

inspiration from the Palace of Versailles

and French-American military engineer

Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s city plan for

Washington, D.C.

Stringent rules banning major changes

to the architecture—or adding new build-

ings—have helped the enclave maintain its

aura of exclusivity and grandeur. “h ere’s

legacy, there’s history and there’s scarcity.

h ere are only 65 privately owned bunga-

(^12)
LUTYENS
IN NEW DELHI