Lavasa in Pune was touted to be India's first private hill city. The project, which started in 2004, envisioned a planned township with residences, hotels, a city centre and schools. The township project faced numerous allegations of usurping tribal land and violating environmental norms. The people who gave up their land for the project are largely adivasis and former landless people from 18 villages in Pune district who received this land as part of the state land reforms, initiated in the 1960s which dissolved large landholdings.
The adivasis allege they have been duped of their land to build the plush township. They insist that they did not sell their land, which the Lavasa Corporation claimed to have bought through agents.
Upon the request of Medha Patkar, convener of the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), and Pune district collector, the sub-divisional magistrate identified in 2015 that 191 hectares of land within the project site belonged to 13 tribal families and ordered this land to be returned to them. Meanwhile, soon after the allegations, the Maharashtra government started investigating more such cases of fraudulent purchase of tribal lands.
The project was also criticised by activists for causing environmental degradation by cutting millions of trees and diverting and restricting natural water streams.
In August 2018, the National Company Law Tribunal accepted a petition to declare Lavasa Corporation bankrupt. The case was being heard as of October 2019. An article reported that the town was abandoned but people who had invested are keen on finding a solution and had petitioned to the prime minister to save the project.
Suniti S.R. from the NAPM said that "even though we have succeeded in regaining around 191 hectares of land that were fraudulently transferred, the families still have lost agricultural land in Varasgaon Dam which was given to Lavasa on lease".
After the Lavasa Corporation Limited filed for bankruptcy in 2019, the case dragged on for four years. In 2023, NCLT approved a resolution plan of Rs 1814-crore involving the takeover of the project by Darwin Platform Infra Ltd. However, even after one year and seven meetings with the Union Bank of India, the resolution plans did not take off, following which the homebuyers and the bank again filed for insolvency of the plan in NCLT.
In September 2024, the NCLT scrapped the DPIL resolution plan and directed a fresh insolvency proceeding, taking the situation of development of Lavasa to the same as in 2018.
Meanwhile, a PIL has been filed by Nanasaheb Jadhav in 2023, demanding a CBI investigation in the role of Sharad Pawar the leader of Nationalist Congress Party -- Sharadchandra Pawar. The complaint is in regards of the abuse of power by Sharad Pawar in allowing irregularities and fraudulent activities in the project. The matter has now reached the Supreme Court.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for legal recognition of land rights
Complaint against procedural violations
Demand to get back acquired land
Refusal to give up land for the project
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common and Private
Forest and Non-Forest
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project stalled
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Agricultural land, Residential area
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Yes
Source/Reference
<https://india.mongabay.com/2019/10/the-invisible-victims-of-an-unfinished-city/>
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
40000
Type of investment:
Cost of Project
Year of Estimation
2004
Has the Conflict Ended?
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Land Ceiling Laws, Central/State Government Policy, Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Forced evictions/dispossession of land
Controversial land acquisition by the government
Violation of free prior informed consent
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
No
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Hindustan Construction Company, Lavasa Corporation Limited
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Local tribal families, Katkar community
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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