These are India's most expensive pincodes

While Mumbai may be the financial hub of India, Delhi is ahead in the networth of wealthy occupants.

From Kolkata’s colonial old world charm of Alipore Road to Delhi’s much saught-after Lutyens’ zone and Mumbai’s shore-hugging Napean Sea Road and Worli Sea Face, here’s a list of the most expensive and exclusive addresses of India:

Topping the list is a tie between the Mumbai Golden Triangle -Napean sea Road, Altamont Road & Breach Candy and Delhi’s Aurangzeb Road.

Altamount Road, boasts of being the address of two of the richest men in India - Mukesh Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla. Walking up and down this tree-lined avenue is all about getting noticed - whether you’re in a Lamborghini or outside one.

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[caption id=“attachment_499996” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Malabar Hills on Napean Sea road is another premium territory which houses the Ruiaas of the Essar Group, Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon Industries, Adi Godrej and Mumbai-based builder Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry. Sajpics/Flickr[/caption]

Meanwhile, Malabar Hills on Napean Sea road is another premium territory which houses the Ruiaas of the Essar Group, Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon Industries, Adi Godrej and Mumbai-based builder Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry.

" This is the most preferred area in South Mumbai, specifically among the business community and industrialists," says says Om Ahuja, CEO - Residential Services, Jones Lang LaSalle. The price here ranges anywhere between Rs 50,000 per square foot to Rs 100,000 per square foot, depending upon the location.

Recently, Sajjan Jindal, who runs JSW Steel, concluded a deal to acquire a bungalow in Napean Sea Road for $89 million, making it one of the most expensive residential property transactions in the country. Buying old houses in exclusive locations and tearing them down for gleaming new residences is a favorite past-time of many industrialists, as these zip codes have long been the abode of the rich and the famous, movie stars and politicians dating back several decades.

According to a Times of India study mapping the richest roads based on the net worth of billionaires residing on them, Aurangzeb Road in Lutyen’s Delhi, a precious stone’s throw from the Prime Minister’s residence on Race Course Road, should top the rich list. Spacious clean roads, sprawling bungalows with lush gardens and high walls, posh swanky cars, well-maintained parks lined by maple trees and VVIP security, 24 hours. Clearly it is a location that rich and the mighty fight over due to the short supply of houses available on the street.

[caption id=“attachment_500013” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Lutyens’ Delhi, which includes Aurangzeb Road, Prithviraj Road, Mansingh Road, Shahjahan road, and the nearby posh localities of Chanakyapuri, Golf Links, Jor Bagh and Sunder Nagar have long been the preferred locations for India’s rich and powerful[/caption]

Lutyens’ Delhi, which includes Aurangzeb Road, Prithviraj Road, Mansingh Road, Shahjahan road, and the nearby posh localities of Chanakyapuri, Golf Links, Jor Bagh and Sunder Nagar have long been the preferred locations for India’s rich and powerful. Besides the strategic location, this area has a certain snob value attached to it. Buying a house here means announcing to the world that one has arrived in Delhi, and therefore India’s power circle.

Just last month, Ahmedabad-based drug-to-power group Torrent owned by Sudhir and Samir Mehta bought a 1,112.4 sq yards bungalow on Dharam Marg in Chanakyapuri, near the American Embassy, for Rs 111 crore. Lutyen’s Bungalow Zone is home to wealthy businessmen and top politicians like Naveen Jindal, LN Mittal, Sunil Mittal, DLF ’s KP Singh, Analjit Singh of Max India group, Malvinder and Shivinder Singh of Religare where such Rs 100-crore plus transactions are a regular.

A report in the Economic Times on Monday said, Rajan Mittal, one of the promoters of the Bharti Group, is locked in a tussle with rival bidders over the ownership of a bungalow on Amrita Shergill Marg, which happens to be only a few hundred metres from brother Sunil’s home, thus highlighting the fascination that properties in this area hold for India’s industrialists.

There are 1,000 bungalows in Lutyens’ Zone, of which only 65 are privately-owned. Prices here range from around Rs 150 crore for bungalows located on smaller plots, under an acre, to around Rs 400 crore for larger bungalows built on 3-4 acres.

TheLutyens’ Zone is followed by Chanakyapuri & Jor Baugh in Delhi, again mostly preferred by the ultra rich. Price range starts anywhere between Rs.50,000 psf to Rs. 200,000 psf. Chanakyapuri plays host to a majority of foreign embassies in India, and is home to a number of their staff, while Jor Baugh has seen an influx of expatriates and NRIs making their way back home. The India Habitat Centre, India International Centre, World Bank and several international societies and organisations are located in the area too.

Third on the list is again Mumbai with Pochkanwala Road & Worli Seaface - which is again mostly preferred by the richest industrialist and top notch businessmen . Prices here range anywhere between between Rs 55,000 psf to 1,00,000 psf. Worli was primarily a fishing village which has now evolved to become one of Mumbai’s busiest commercial destinations. In April 2010, an HNI paid in excess of Rs 36 crore, or about Rs 99,000 per sqft, for a duplex in Samudra Mahal, Worli.

[caption id=“attachment_500043” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  SRK’s Mannat[/caption]

And then off course there is Mount Mary, Bandstand and Carter Road, again in Mumbai. It is the most preferred location by first generation entrepreneurs, Bollywood film personalities and top notch professionals in the industry, says Ahuja. Prices here range between Rs 50,000 to Rs.75,000 per square foot. Shah Rukh Khan bought a heritage bungalow from Nariman K Dubash for $3.33 million in 1999 on Bandstand; its value is estimated to be about $25 million today! And SRK’s Mannat now is as much a landmark of the city as are its historical and political destinations. John Abraham’s sea-facing bachelor pad on Carter Road and Salman’s Khan’s Rs 20 crore flat on Bandstand take Bandra’s glamour quotient up a notch.

Past the ancient Victoria Memorial, Fort William and the race course , a neighborhood straight of a Jane Austen novel, Alipore in Kolkata is sixth on the rich list and is the privileged abode of the quintessential babus.Prices range anywhere between Rs 15,000 to Rs 40,000 a square foot. Top business families such as the Goenkas, Singhanias, Jalans, Apeejay, the Mittals of Ispat Industries and the Bangurs share space on this road.

[caption id=“attachment_500022” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Boat Club Road Chennai. Picture by andro2013/flickr[/caption]

Close on the heels is Chennai’s most coveted address: The Boat Club Road in Alwarpet, a calm area situated away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the houses here come with an exclusive opulence tag. Land here costs anything between Rs 23,000-Rs 27,000 a square foot. The Maran brothers are the neo-rich who moved into this small patch of the most expensive real estate in Tamil Nadu’s capital a few years ago. At Rs. 25,000 per sq feet, the Boat Club area - a spread of less than 2 sq km in south Chennai - leaves even Poes Gardens, which houses chief minister J Jayalalithaa and superstar actor Rajinikanth, behind.

And finally, we have Banjara and Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad- The second largest metropolitan area in India where only royal members of the Nizam’s dynasty used to live . Prices range anywhere between Rs 9,000 psf to Rs.15,000 psf.

According to a study by global realty consultant Cushman & Wakefield last year, Banjara Hills Road No 1 continued to hold its own as a top notch shopping centre and mall destination in the country with rental values of Rs 240 per sq ft per month along with those like Kolkata’s Elgin Road, which was the steepest location at Rs 533 per sq ft per month. “Both Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills, being the most premium residential locations of the city, provide for a very potent catchment area for retail activities,” the study had said.