Since Mohan Yadav took charge as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in December 2023, his family members and their real estate companies have collectively purchased at least 137 plots, totalling 168 acre, for Rs 45 crore. Most of them along road corridors announced by his own government or in areas reclassified for development under the Ujjain Master Plan 2035.
This is the finding of a multi-part investigation by The Indian Express (IE), based on land registry records in and around Ujjain.
Who bought what
The purchases were made by the CM’s wife Seema, his son Vaibhav’s wife Shalini, brothers Nandlal and Narayan, Narayan’s wife Rekha, their son Abhay and first cousins Govind and Nilesh Yadav. They were either in their own names or through four real estate companies run by the family. Of the 168 acre, 12 acre were internal transfers within the family.
IE found the family already held at least 108 plots spanning 179 acre before Yadav became CM, with at least 85 acre bought during 2021-2023 when he served as Education Minister. Purchases accelerated sharply after December 2023.
In 2025 alone, even as the state government faced local resistance to pooling farmland for permanent Kumbh infrastructure in Ujjain, the family bought at least 62 plots spanning 92 acre.
Mohan Yadav’s sister Kalavati, who serves as President of the Ujjain municipality, holds at least 17 acre in Sawarakhedi and Kasba Ujjain.
Land next to new roads
Of the 168 acre bought after Yadav took office, 111 acres lie adjacent to road projects announced by his government. Ujjain District Collector Roushan Singh told IE that more than half a dozen highway projects – covering routes to Garoth, Jhalawar, Nagda, Badnawar, Indore and Bhopal – were underway, with another 15 to 20 internal road-widening works in the pipeline.
In Gangedi, near the junction of the upgraded Ujjain-Badnagar and Ujjain-Indore highways, the family bought at least 51 acre across 38 plots since April 2024. In Unhel, on both sides of the new Ujjain-Nagda highway, 29 acre were picked up across 16 plots in May 2025. In Jaiwantpura, six acre in 12 plots were acquired along the Ujjain-Maksi road being four-laned, while about nine acre were bought in Chandesara, positioned between two Indore-Ujjain highways, in February 2025.
Master plan zones
Within Ujjain city limits, the family holds land in nearly every zone where the 2035 Master Plan changed land use from agricultural to residential or commercial. The plan was released in May 2023, months before Yadav became CM, though he had been involved in Ujjain’s development as chairperson of the Ujjain Development Authority from 2004 to 2010 as head of the MP Tourism Development Corporation from 2011 to 2013 and as MLA from Ujjain South since 2013.
Weeks before the Master Plan’s release, the family had already purchased at least 30 acre in Sawarakhedi in March-April 2023. Since Yadav became CM, the family acquired at least 37 more acre in newly reclassified zones, including 18 acre in Pandyakhedi, now designated as commercial.
Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma had accused Yadav of allegedly influencing the Ujjain Municipal Corporation to reclassify areas where the family already held large parcels. Following protests, the state government reversed land use changes covering about 367 acre in Sawarakhedi in July 2023, though the policy held elsewhere.
Cousins driving the push
At the centre of the family’s real estate expansion are first cousins Govind, also known as Bablu, and Nilesh Yadav – sons of the CM’s uncle Shankarlal. The brothers ramped up acquisitions sharply around the time Mohan Yadav became CM.
Between April 2024 and July 2025, Govind and associates bought 41 acre across 16 deals in Gangedi alone, then transferred these to Indore-based Shanti Mahalok Builders in five tranches between July 2024 and September 2025. Under one agreement, the builder was to develop the land at its own cost within 24 months and hand over 67.8 per cent of the finished property to Govind and partners.
A second set of parcels was transferred under a 60:40 ownership split between the landowners and the builder.
Nilesh, meanwhile, has registered four housing schemes in Ujjain since October 2024 under the Sawariya brand in Karadiya, Chandesara, Dhediya and Nanakheda. Nilesh and wife Sunita have together purchased at least 108 acre since 2024, including 12 acre acquired from Mohan Yadav’s own family company, Shri Siddhivinayak Devcons.
Family companies
Mohan Yadav holds at least 17 acre in Ujjain directly. He and wife Seema together hold 73 per cent stake in Shri Siddhivinayak Devcons Pvt Ltd, which owns at least 27.5 acre across prime Ujjain locations, with son Vaibhav serving as director. Seema Yadav holds an additional 10.6 acre in her own name.
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