Lavasa

Lavasa is a planned private hill city in the Western Ghats near Pune, Maharashtra, conceived in the early 2000s as a modern “hill station” inspired by the lakeside town of Portofino in Italy. Developed primarily by Lavasa Corporation (linked to Hindustan Construction Company – HCC), the project aimed to create a self-contained city with residential townships, hotels, an IT and education hub, and leisure infrastructure around the backwaters of Warasgaon Dam. The first phase, Dasve, with colourful waterfront buildings, promenades and resorts, quickly became a weekend destination for people from Pune and Mumbai.

From the beginning, however, Lavasa’s growth was shadowed by controversy and environmental concerns. Activists and government agencies questioned land acquisition, hill-cutting, impact on water catchments and clearances under environmental laws. At various points, construction was halted or slowed while permissions were reviewed and legal cases proceeded. Financial stress and regulatory scrutiny later led to stalled projects, incomplete buildings, and reduced activity compared to the original ambitious masterplan. Despite this troubled history, Lavasa remains an important example in India’s urban story: a bold but contested experiment in privately developed, master-planned hill urbanism, highlighting tensions between real-estate driven growth, environmental sustainability, local communities and long-term viability.