Patna, April 20: Till a few years ago, Sundarnagar near Walmi was infamous for its barren lands and wild trees. Hardly anyone lived there and residents of neighbouring villages feared to tread into the area after dusk.

At present, however, thousands from the state capital are queuing up outside offices of brokers to buy plots in the area, even when the prices have gone over the roof.

Jai Prakash Narayan All India Institute of Medical Sciences (JPNAIIMS) is coming up just a kilometer north of this sleepy hamlet. The health hub has pushed up land prices in the surrounding areas and rejoicing the sudden rush are the farmers in the villages.

“Land prices have increased eight to 10 times in past three or four years. Today, one has to shell out Rs 4 lakh to Rs 25 lakh for a cottah (1,360sqft) of land, depending on the proximity to the upcoming health hub. The prices were as low as about Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh a few years ago. When I shifted here post-retirement in 1998, my relatives in Patna made fun of me. They said I had chosen a forest to live in. Government officials and professionals are now queuing up to buy land in my neighbourhood. You will be surprised to know that even though this village is about 20km from Patna, with no market nearby, there are apartment buildings coming up and flats are selling like hot cakes,” said Tiger Jogendra Narayan Singh, a resident of Sundarnagar village.

The same story is true for other nearby villages like Mohammadpur, Kurji, Danapur Bhasaul, Phuliatola.

Bihita, about 40km from Patna, is another such hotspot. The land prices at Amhara village under Bihita block have skyrocketed by more than 250 per cent after the central government announced that the Indian Institute of Technology-Patna campus would come up in the area. There are reports that land is now being sold for Rs 25 lakh per cottah. The price was about Rs 1 lakh till two years ago.

Ram Prasad Shah, a peon in a government school at Bihita, said, “We did not protest when state government approached us for land acquisition, as we all know that with the growth of the institute, the area will also grow up as there will be large-scale employment opportunities in the area.”

Danapur, the main suburb of the capital, is also not far behind in this real estate boom. The price of land in Danapur has increased three to four times since 2007. Several multi-storeyed buildings of public schools and private firms have come up in the area, particularly on the Saguna-Khagaul road. The land and flats in the vicinity of Saguna roundabout are in great demand, said sources.

Till 2006, there were only a few apartments in Danapur. But things have changed drastically in the past three years. Apartments are being constructed on both flanks of the Bailey Road, right from Gola Road to Saguna roundabout. Shivala on Danapur-Naubatpur-Bihta road, about 4km west from Danapur railway station, is another area where the prices of land have gone up.

Showrooms of big brands and malls are proposed to be set up near Shivala, and the list of interested property buyers include bureaucrats, proprietors of private schools and builders. Two private medical and engineering colleges have also been set up in the areas in recent years.

A two-BHK (bedroom, hall, kitchen) flat near Saguna costs between Rs 22 lakh and Rs 25 lakh while the price of the land in the area varies from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh per cottah.