8 highway corridors now radiate from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh — reshaped by the Master Plan 2035 and a ₹thousands-crore Simhastha Kumbh 2028 build-out that is rewriting land values across the district. An Indian Express investigation finds that since December 2023, one family has been buying along nearly every new corridor — 137 plots, 168 acres, ₹45 crore.
8 highway corridors now radiate from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh — reshaped by the Master Plan 2035 and a ₹thousands-crore Simhastha Kumbh 2028 build-out that is rewriting land values across the district. An Indian Express investigation finds that since December 2023, one family has been buying along nearly every new corridor — 137 plots, 168 acres, ₹45 crore.
The year-by-year record is unambiguous. Through Yadav's Education Minister years, acquisitions climbed steadily — 10 plots/8 acres in 2021, 14/27 in 2022, 33/50 in 2023. The moment he became Chief Minister, the line bends sharply upward.
In 2024 alone: 75 plots, 76 acres. In 2025: 62 plots, 92 acres. That two-year CM-era sprint — 137 plots, 168 acres — nearly matches the entire pre-CM land bank of 179 acres accumulated over decades.
The family radiates through three rings: immediate family, siblings and in-laws, and first cousins Govind and Nilesh Yadav, who run the operational realty core. All-time, the three rings together hold 245 plots across 335 acres.
Govind 'Bablu' Yadav assembled 41 acres in Gangedi across 16 deals at a highway junction announced by his cousin's government. Daughter-in-law Shalini Yadav added over 10 acres, bringing the family total to 51. Govind handed his parcels to Indore-based Shanti Mahalok Builders on a 60:40 develop-and-split arrangement. The builder declined to comment.
Northwest in Unhel, 29 acres straddling the new Ujjain–Nagda highway were bought last May. Northeast in Karondiya, nephew Abhay Yadav acquired 7.4 of 8 acres purchased in July 2025 along the Panchkoshi Parikrama ring road via Shrivenktesh Devbuild LLP, formed weeks before Yadav became Chief Minister.
37 of the 168 CM-era acres sit in zones converted to residential or commercial use under Ujjain Master Plan 2035. The sharpest example: family firm Mangalmurti Infra bought 20+ acres in Sawarakhedi in April 2023, days before the land-use change was announced.
After Congress's Sajjan Singh Verma flagged these holdings, the government reverted ~367 acres of Sawarakhedi to non-residential use in July 2023. The policy held elsewhere. Pandyakhedi followed a similar arc, with 18 acres acquired following commercial redesignation. This purchase-then-announcement pattern repeats citywide.
Nilesh Yadav, the CM's first cousin, runs Shri Annapurna Construction with his wife Sunita, registering four 'Sawariya' housing projects since October 2024.
The clearest internal transaction: in September 2024, Siddhivinayak Devcons — 73% owned by the CM and his wife — sold 12 acres to Nilesh to build Sawariya Green.
The pipeline is complete: state zoning, family acquisition, inter-company transfer, branded housing. Dismissing scrutiny, cousin Anant Yadav asked, 'Should we shut down just because the CM is from our family?'
Pulled back, the full picture is 335 acres across 245 plots radiating in three rings: 168 acres bought in the CM era, 85 as Education Minister, and 82 older acres. Cousins Nilesh (~108 acres) and Govind (~47 acres) hold the bulk. Mohan Yadav and his sister Kalavati, Ujjain's municipality president, personally hold ~17 acres each. Five family companies, led by Siddhivinayak Devcons, thread the holdings together. The local roots run deep: Yadav has been Ujjain South MLA since 2013 and chaired the Ujjain Development Authority 2004–2010.
He did not respond to the investigation's detailed questionnaire. The reporting is by Jay Mazoomdaar for The Indian Express. Yadav did not respond to the investigation's detailed questionnaire.