Lavasa was envisioned as India's first planned hill city near Pune, Maharashtra, based on principles of new urbanism. The initial plan was to develop the city across 7 hills over 25,000 acres to house 3 lakh residents and attract 20 lakh tourists annually. Phase 1 development at Dasve valley included luxury hotels and residences. However, construction was halted multiple times due to violations of environmental and planning norms. Lavasa failed to be completed as planned due to inability to repay loans as a result of prolonged construction delays and mounting interest costs.

1. HUMAN SETTLEMENT ASSIGNMENT
S.SUREN ADITHYAA RA1
LAVASA
INDIA'S FIRST PLANNED HILL CITY
CASE STUDY

2. ABOUT LAVASA
Lavasa Hill City is free India’s first and largest
hill city , Lavasa is being developed by the
Lavasa Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of HCC
(Hindustan Construction Company Limited) and
is based on the principles of New Urbanism.
with a township spread across the 7 hills of the
Mose valley. The area is quite close to the major
cities of Pune(and Mumbai and circles the
Varasgaon lake. Lavasa is just about 65 Kms (an
hrs drive) from Pune and abut 200 Kms ( 3.5 hrs)
from Mumbai. Lavasa Hill City covers 25,000
acres with 60 Kms of lakefront.

3. INITIAL VISUALIZATION
Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Construction Company is the visionary
of the Lavasa urban development project .
The architects wanted it to be an imitation of an Italian hill-side town Portofino .
The overall Lavasa development includes three self-sustaining towns: Dasve, Gadle and
Dhamanohol , Lavasa when completely built will have 5 towns.
.
Lavasa is planned for a permanent population of around 3 lakh residents and a tourist inflow that is
expected to be 20 lakh per annum.
“Lavasa is perhaps the first world-class city being developed in India which has chosen not to be an
alienated gated community" -TOA architects

4. URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Lavasa when completely built will
have 5 major towns - Dasve,
Mugaon, Dhamanohol, Sakhari-
Wadavali and the Central Business
District (CBD).
The target completion date is
2021.Development plans of
Lavasa consists of four periods
and involves the development of 12
towns in total spread across 7 hill
slopes
• Period 1 – Dasve, Mugaon, Bhoini
• Period 2 – Dhamanhole, Gadale,
Koloshi, Ugawali
• Period 3 – Sakhari, Wadavali
• Period 4 – Bhode, Mose, Saiv
PHASE

5. HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
A population density of 175 people per
acre is set to be achieved at The 1,700-acre
Dasve Valley which is the Phase One
development currently nearing completion.
Lavasa also present well designed housing
options for permanent residents , Over
25,000 lakeside apartments and villas
with over 50,000 employment
opportunities should be available at Lavasa
city.
The housing design is mainly dependent on
the 60 km lake front stretch that has to be
both aesthetically connected with the theme
and functionally supporting.

6. DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
The plan is based on the principles of
New Urbanism which conveniences its
residents placing all essential
components of daily life within walking
distance of each other & in a more
organized manner.
All residential and commercial buildings
are situated in the town centre, which
facilitates the ‘walk to work’ culture,
hence minimum stress on
transportation.
Infrastructure support & service
standards across 5 towns for residents
and visitors, well enabled by GIS
mapping and egovernance.

7. DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
It is broadly based on a town planning
principle known as the “transect
model”, where the development follows
a natural pattern of high density core
surrounded by successive layers of
descending densities and transcending
character from urban to rural.
The densely packed smaller villas are
positioned at the base of the hills while
larger villas are located further away
from the town centre, as one goes up
the slope.
With the help of GIS, the pattern of
population density and work place
resultant of land use was mapped

8. PHASE 1 : DASVE
Dasve is the first town being developed at
Lavasa. It is phase 1 of the Lavasa urban
development plan.
phase 1 primarily focuses on hospitality and
residential development and bringing in
tourism through it as a revenue generation for
Lavasa.
major developments including ITC Fortune,
Novotel, Hilton etc. and boasts of the largest
international convention center managed by
Accor.
The lake edge development predominantly
features residential and retail developments.

9. PHASE 1 : DASVE
Affordable pricing for multiple socio ecenomic
classes and options for residents available.
investment of rs.4000 crore is invested on
roads , services and other amenities.
initially planned to be completed by 2010
goals:
• 70% Amount of previously deforested land
that will be restored through detailed
landscaping, reforestation and slope greening.
• 30% Reduction in carbon emissions.
• 65% Reduction in potable water
consumption.
• 95% Reduction of waste sent to landfill.

10. INCOMPLTETE LAVASA
with the original plan phase 1 was set to be completed
by 2010 , phase one now in 2022 is yet to be
completed . Today Lavasa is an incomplete shell
housing.
Between this time period the construction has to be
stopped three times for 2-3 years as per court orders .
The approval for extension and the construction of
other 3 phases have been shut down and scope of
opening them in the future hasn't been positive.
The investments made in Lavasa have all been a loss
for the investors , even the retail market has got a
huge blow and the huge infrastructures are just left
unused.

11. WHY DID LAVASA FAIL
The Lavasa corpration failed mostly due to not able to pay due's to the stake holders and bankers , this is due
to the high interest rate due to prolonged construction because of court orders. for the following issues:
1.Planning norms violated - Its plan does not conform to the procedures in the Maharashtra Regional and
Town Planning Act of 1966, which include inviting public objections and obtaining approval from the state
government.
2.Excess water consumption than approved - The Warasgaon dam contributes to the Khadakwasla dam
which provides drinking water to Pune. LCL claims the water requirement of Lavasa is minuscule compared to
the water requirement of Pune.
3.Environmental damage reports - The site inspection of MoEF notes that the company has resorted to
large scale hill-cutting to extract construction material and for making roads. This has rendered the hills
barren.
in many of these cases the Lavasa corp has been found guilty and ambiguity remains in their land accusation
cases that still puts the real-estate at risk.