 "H S Narula")
When the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway turns into a freeway for commuters between the two cities, the H S Narula-promoted DSC Ltd will see a landmark slipping out of its hands. The project had failed to meet the high expectations it had evoked less than a decade ago.
A few years before the expressway project was conceived, Narula, then a little known businessman from London, opened high-end departmental store Ebony in tony South Extension here. At that time, the idea of a walking into a store that had everything, from branded clothes to books, was unheard. Ebony recorded good footfalls, but the business wasn't commensurate. Also, other retail stores started springing up across the capital soon.
Though Ebony is still around in Delhi, riding on the iconic Gautier brand, and in other north Indian cities such as Faridabad and Amritsar, its novelty is gone. Other retail chains, mostly home-grown, have taken over.
Narula also owned Elegant English Hotels, exclusive boutique hotels in London, as well as a trading and sourcing business in Dubai and a natural stones business under the Chicago Granite and Marble brand in the US. Narula, along with his brother, had also taken up construction activity in war-torn Libya.
Homecoming
When the National Democratic Alliance government awarded the expressway contract to Narula's DS Construction (now DSC Ltd), the project had many firsts to its credit. The Vajpayee government was on a highway construction overdrive and the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway became the first infrastructure project that paid the government. By then, Narula's group had built a small portfolio of state highway projects, though in Delhi, it was best known for Ebony.
When the Expressway was ready, the promise of zipping from Delhi to Gurgaon hit a toll roadblock. Initially, it took 30-40 minutes to get past the free-for-all among commuters at the toll plaza. To be fair, DSC came up with a smart-card proposal - card owners would be allowed to pass through particular toll gates without any delay. But in a city where regulation is frowned upon, smart cards help little.
Also, it seemed the entire project was conceived without keeping pedestrians in mind. After many accidents involving pedestrians, footbridges were erected, but this wasn't enough to bridge the trust deficit the expressway had created. Faced with mornings and evenings of traffic jams, those living adjacent to the highway took DSC to court. After a lengthy legal and regulatory battle involving the National Highways Authority of India, the toll plaza could soon become history.
Narula's ambitions weren't confined to the expressway. In 2005, he tied up with Munich Airport to bid for the Delhi airport modernisation programme. Though the group's bid earmarked 41.15 per cent revenue share to the Airports Authority of India, it finished third. GMR-Fraport bagged the project.
Known among his colleagues as HS, Narula isn't actively involved with the business in India any more, though he continues to be its chairman and is more focussed on the overseas ventures. "He is reticent and does not like to be focused upon," says a company executive. Along with his wife Surina, Narula is actively engaged in philanthropy. Manhad, Narula's son, runs the group's India operations.
Narula never shifted base to India; the business was always run by a small group of professionals. The group operates through four companies---DSC Ltd India, DSC Engineering, DSC Hydro Power and DSC International- across roads and expressways, railways, pipelines, power, urban infrastructure and real estate.
