Lavasa is a private,planned city being built near Pune.
A 25,000 acres (100 km2) or 8,000 acres (32 km2) 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 As of late 2011, this order has been rescinded.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.
Fortune Hotel, Lavasa
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[14] 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 km2) 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.
