Sushil Ansal Support His father

By the mid-1960s, Sushil Ansal had begun to nudge his father in the direction of real estate development. When the Master Plan was released and in the discussion and consultation that preceded it, he sensed that there were opportunities coming. The Ansals had experience in contracting and knew the construction end of the business. As such, Sushil Ansal saw moving into full-scale property development as a natural corollary.

Sushil Ansal

As early as 1963 – in anticipation of the finalization of the zoning plan – Sushil Ansal had persuaded his father and father-in-law, Surendra Saigal, to put down an advance for the purchase of a 2,056-square-yard plot on 26A Barakhmaba Road. A bungalow belonging to an old Delhi family, the Guptas, stood here. In 1965, the price was renegotiated, as the Guptas now wanted more. Finally, a small tailor’s shop in the premises proved an obstacle. The tailor tenant refused to leave and had to be taken to court. By 1966, the Ansals had made the full payment of about Rs. 4.5 lakh, and the Gupta bungalow was ready for demolition.

Even for a successful contracting firm, it was, at that point, a massive risk. Essentially,Sushil Ansal had paid for a property without any idea of when the zoning plan, and subsequently, sanction to construct would arrive. He needed capital as well and this came from his father-in-law. In fact, the property was bought by a new partnership entity: Chiranji Lal, Surendra Kumar and Others.

The wait was relatively short. In 1967, the zoning plans were luckily finalized. The following year in 1968, Sushil Ansal’s company got permission to build the first office high-rise in Delhi. This was a historic event in Delhi’s vertical growth. For Sushil Ansal, it was a leap in the dark.

Even so, he had his reasons for being confident. He knew the city and its property market better than most people. His informal market surveys had also been encouraging. He had identified several layers of potential clients – buyers for the office space he would construct.

“Banks were expanding, liaison and marketing offices of big corporate houses needed quality offices,” he says, looking back, “Chandni Chowk and Old Delhi businessmen wanted to move to more organized locations.” In the absence of a CBD, misuse and misrepresentation were rampant. Many MNCs and foreign business representatives were living in rented accommodation in tiny neighborhoods such as Jor Bagh and Sunder Nagar and their residences were doubling as offices. This was illegal and Sushil Ansal assessed they would welcome the prospect of a modern and legal office complex – Akashdeep.