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Lavasa (Marathi: लवासा) is a private, planned city being built near Pune.

A 25,000 acres (100 km) or 8,000 acres (32 km) project being developed by HCC, this as-yet-incomplete city has been controversial for multiple reasons including procurement of land, harm to the environment, and loans acquired through political corruption.

In late 2010 the Indian Environment and Forests ministry ordered that construction cease because the project violated environmental laws. As of late 2011, this order has been rescinded. The project's scale may have been reduced, however, and an IPO may not occur. The head of the company building the project said in 2013 that due to the Environment and Forest ministry's order the project had "lost three years."

The city has recently become a location in the upcoming film Mental starring Salman Khan.

History

Billed as India's first hill station since Independence, this private city is being constructed by a unit of Ajit Gulabchand's Hindustan Construction Company, Lavasa Corporation.

Land

The area demarcated for Lavasa is located near Pune in the Mose valley of the Western Ghats.

Lavasa Corporation

Currently majority owned by Hindustan Construction Company, Lavasa Corporation is responsible for the construction of the city. It is preparing to make an initial public offering although as of late 2011, an IPO may not be planned.

Legal name

Originally registered as Pearly Blue Lake Resorts Pvt Ltd in 2000, the company changed its name to The Lake City Corporation Pvt Ltd later that year and around 2004 changed it again to its current name, Lavasa Corporation.

Ownership

As of late 2010 ownership of Lavasa Corporation is Hindustan Construction Company (64.99%), Avantha Group (16.25%), Venkateshwara Hatcheries (12.8%), and individual investor Vinay Vithal Maniar (6%).

Current progress

Construction on two of five towns is ongoing and a number of residences have been completed as of 2013. By 2011 four hotels and a city centre had been completed. A primary, middle, and high school, Le Mont High, has been constructed as well. Le Mont allows children of Lavasa residents to be educated inside the city's walls.

Plans

While some sections are complete, construction of Lavasa will not be finished before 2020. After the city is fully built, total population may be 200,000, and it will comprise four or five towns built on seven hills. The first of these, Dasve, was initially slated to be complete by 2010 although some residences there were still under construction as of 2013. Mugaon, the second town, may be finished by 2013 and as of May, 2013, construction continues. Work on this town began in mid-2012. In 2013 the chairman of the construction company building the project confirmed that Lavasa will include four large towns and one low-cost town.

Sports facilities

Planned sports facilities include a Nick Faldo-designed golf course, a Manchester City-branded football academy, and a Hockey Australia hockey academy.

Theme park

A theme park of over 65 acres (0.26 km) in size is planned.

Education

Lavasa may go on to host one university. Initially Lavasa had a partnership with Oxford University, but by 2010 this British institution had removed itself from the project. As of 2010, Symbiosis International University is planning to set up a new liberal arts college campus at the township.

The town already boasts a hospitality management college, École hôtelière Lavasa, which is an overseas extension of the École hôtelière de Lausanne of Switzerland.

Other facilities

A 200 acre health and wellness center and an herb plantation are also planned.

CSR

Lavasa Corporation has initiated a number of CSR programs that target Lavasa and its environs. These include providing vocational training and employment opportunities for locals already living near Lavasa and hosting Diwali festivities for primary school students from nearby villages. Access to a medical facility and a kindergarten-through-second grade education center are also available free of charge to villagers, who don't inhabit the planned towns but live in neighbouring communities instead.

Awards and recognition

Lavasa has won several awards for its plans and designs. In 2005 Dasve village in Lavasa won awards from the Congress for the New Urbanism and the American Society of Landscape Architects. In 2009 the St. Louis chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects recognised the Lavasa landscape master plan with a merit award.

Lavasa was recognised as the Most Promising New Destination at the Travel and Tourism Fair held in Mumbai in 2012.

Events

Lavasa Women's Drive

Lavasa Women's Drive (LWD) is an annual event of Lavasa initiated five years ago. The drive starts from Pune and Mumbai and completes at Lavasa. This annual drive is organised by Lavasa Corporation Ltd. in collaboration with Bombay Times and in aid of the Woman's Cancer Initiative of Tata Memorial Hospital. It captures multiple aspects – fun, adventure and spirit of the Indian woman along with a social cause.

In 2011 LWD entered the Limca Book of Records as the largest women's car rally in India. It has grown to more than 500 cars and more than 2,000 women participating in 2012 with an almost 150% jump in number of entries since 2011.

Going beyond the drive, it includes workshops, pre-event party and cancer camps in Mumbai and Pune. Women from varied walks of life come together to participate in this event and show their support. Celebrities flagged off the event, making way for the drive to Lavasa, which then culminates with an award ceremony and dinner.

Themes for the Lavasa Womens drive

Controversies

Quarrying

While Lavasa has stone crushing permits, its operations have been described as "hill cutting" and "quarrying" by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, and the environmental impact of these activities was investigated.

Land acquisition

Both government and individual land owners have taken issue with Lavasa's land acquisition approach.

A report by the Maharashtra environment department claims 600 hectares (6.0 km) of land bought by Lavasa Corporation was purchased from farmers who had been granted it by the Indian State. Because of the way in which the farmers obtained the land, three fourths of the purchase price should have been paid to the State. The report states Lavasa Corporation only paid 2%. It also alleges 141 hectares (350 acres) of Lavasa were leased for far less than actual value by the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation and that Lavasa bought 98 hectares (240 acres) of land without license.

Some say land Lavasa is being built on was obtained through coercion. Lavasa Corporation denies this.

Nepotism

Sharad Pawar, an Indian politician born in the state of Maharashtra, is alleged to have demanded compensation for allowing Lavasa to be constructed. When Lavasa Corporation was receiving necessary clearances from the government of Maharashtra, relatives of Pawar had part-ownership of the company developing the project. Pawar's daughter and son-in-law had more than 20% ownership between 2002 and 2004, and they later sold their stakes. A nephew of his was chairman of Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation when it signed off on lease agreements for Lavasa and allowed Lavasa to store water and build dams.

Use of water resources

Lavasa will use the same water resources that currently supply Pune, and it is claimed that this will cause a supply shortage. A 2011 report by the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Environment Ministry concluded there will be no impact on Pune's water supply, however.

Orders to halt construction

For a one year period from late 2010 to late 2011, construction of Lavasa had to be halted due to orders issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In late 2010 it ordered Lavasa Corporation to halt further construction for not having gathered proper clearances. In November 2011 this ministry relented, and construction is no longer impeded by law. While grant of an environmental clearance was recommended in May 2011, Lavasa was only alerted to the fact that clearance was granted on 9 November 2011.

In February 2011, villagers from 14 hamlets around Lavasa staged a protest against the allegations levelled against Lavasa for violating environmental norms and against the attempts to stop the construction. The villagers submitted a petition to the district collector stating that they were happy with the project and the manner in which the displaced villagers were rehabilitated. The protesters were worried about losing their jobs, saying that "If the Lavasa project has violated environmental norms then the government can impose fines, but they should not stop the project; most of the villagers don’t have any other option for livelihood", and "If this project stops, how can we survive?".

References

1. ^ "India rules hill city 'illegal'". BBC. 19 January 2011 Last updated at 00:57 ET. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. "UPDATE 1-India ministry sets terms to consider Lavasa approval". Reuters. 18 January 2011.
3. "Biomimicry: Architecture That Imitates Life". harvardmagazine.com. September–October 2009.
4. "Lavasa Corporation Ltd: India's First Planned Hill City Deploys Portal Solution to Empower Employees; Increases Collaboration and Efficiency". microsoft.com. 31 May 2010.
5. ^ Jamwal, Nidhi (15 September 2008). "Howl of the hills". downtoearth.org.in.
6. Cite error: The named reference loans4bribes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
7. ^ "Environment Ministry asks Lavasa to halt project". The Economic Times. 26 November 2010.
8. ^ HCC to revamp Lavasa finances, decide on IPO reuters.com, 13 November 2011
9. ^ Everything is back on table including Lavasa IPO: HCC moneycontrol.com, 29 May 2013
10. "Salman Khan's look in Mental revealed". Hindustan Times. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
11. ^ "India's newest hill station builds for the future". AFP news hosted by google.com. 15 September 2009.
12. "HCC's Lavasa court hearing adjourned for 6 weeks". Reuters. 27 January 2011.
13. ^ Ferguson, Tim (20 December 2010). "A Stop in India's Lavasa". Forbes. Cite error: The named reference "forbes" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
14. ^ "SHOWCAUSE NOTICE: JAIRAM ORDERS WORK TO STOP – Lavasa lands in trouble for flouting green laws". The Economic Times. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
15. "Pawars no strangers to big land projects". 2 October 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
16. ^ Byatnal, Amruta (31 October 2010). "Symbolic of luxury, Lavasa is built on irregularities". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
17. ^ From the Head of School's Desk Le Mont High official site. Retrieved 31 August 2011
18. ^ "The hills are alive with the sound of controversy". Business Standard. 7 September 2010.
19. ^ Thekaekara, Tarsh. "The great urban juggernaut". New Internationalist. Retrieved 9 February 2011. Cite error: The named reference "ni" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
20. For four towns, see Discover Lavasa: Master Plan; A vision becomes reality Lavasa Official Site
    • For five towns, see Lavasa: Life in Full Lavasa Official Site (Page 4)
    • For seven hills, see Lavasa: Life in Full. Lavasa Official Site (page 2)
21. "Medha Patkar will hold the torch at Lavasa camp". Pune Mirror. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
22. For the golf course, see Faldo signs ‘stunning’ Indian course design project nickfaldo.com, 8 June 2009
    • For the football academy, see "Blues to open academy in India". Manchester City F.C. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010-05-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
    • For the hockey academy, see Hockey Australia recognised as sport world leader following unique partnership. Hockey Australia. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
23. "Lavasa to host SpaceWorld, Asia's first space edutainment centre at Rs400 crore investment". The Financial Express. The Indian Express Limited. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
24. ^ A modern township nestled in the Sahyadris Business Line.in, 2008/06/22
25. Oxford dragged into ‘land-grab’ scam The Hindu, by Hasan Suroor. Monday, 31 August 2009
26. Symbiosis to start liberal arts institute. The Indian Express, 4 March 2010
27. Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa ecolehotelierelavasa.com
28. ^ Water being diverted to Lavasa, alleges Patkar, The Indian Express, 8 July 2009
29. For vocational training, see Lavasa empowers youth from 18 villages indiainfoline.com, 19 October 2010
    • For children's Diwali festivities, see Lavasa Corporation sparkled hearts of 350 Children this Diwali indiainfoline.com, 28 Oct 2010
30. "18 villages in Lavasa to get free healthcare facility". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
31. Manasa, Sneha (12 November 2010). "Lavasa school for underprivileged". The Indian Express. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
32. For Congress for the New Urbanism award, see Charter Awards: Past Winners Congress for the New Urbanism Official Website
    • For American Society of Landscape Architects award, see ASLA Announces 2005 Professional Awards American Society of Landscape Architects Official Website, 7/11/2005
33. The 2009 St. Louis Chapter of ASLA Award Winners stlouisasla.org
34. "Lavasa named as the 'Most Promising Destination' at the Travel and Tourism Fair 2012". Discover Lavasa Blog. Lavasa. 14/09/12. Retrieved 14 September 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
35. "Lavasa Women's Drive". Lavasa Women's Drive. February 2012.
36. "Lavasa Women's Drive". Lavasa. 11 January 2013.
37. "Largest all-woman car rally". Limca Book of Records. 27 February 2011.
38. "Lavasa Women's Drive". Bombay Times. 7 March 2010.
39. "Lavasa Women's Drive". vu2jpn. 29 March 2009.
40. "LWD celebrates woman power to spread awareness". The Times of India. 28 February 2011.
41. "Panel spreads awareness about cervical cancer". The Times of India. 21 February 2012.
42. Byatnal, Amruta (18 February 2011). "Lavasa under scanner for quarrying". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
43. ^ Vaidya, Abhay (26 December 2010). "Lavasa trail reinforces the Sharad Pawar connection & IPL link". Pune: DNA. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
44. Lavasa showed higher FSI : Jairam Ramesh's MoEF Committee rtn.asia, 24 May 2011
45. Bhawan, Paryavaran (9 November 2011). Environmental Clearance for the Development of Hill Station Township at Village Mulshi and Velhe Talukas, District Pune, Maharashtra my M/s. Lavasa Corporation Ltd. —regarding (PDF). New Delhi: Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forests. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
46. . 22nd February 2011 http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/1511426/report-villagers-from-14-hamlets-supporting-lavasa-stage-protest. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)

• Use dmy dates from March 2013
• Planned cities in India
• Cities and towns in Pune district
• Western Ghats
• Planned cities
• Resorts in India
• Hill stations in India