Aamby Valley City
Town
Aamby Valley City is located in Maharashtra
Aamby Valley City
Aamby Valley City
Location in Maharashtra, India
Coordinates: 18°36′34″N 73°23′14″E / 18.60939°N 73.38725°E / 18.60939; 73.38725
Country India
StateMaharashtra
CityPune
Government
 • TestingSahara India Pariwar
Area
 • Total43 km2 (17 sq mi)
Elevation
700 m (2,300 ft)
Languages
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationMH 12, MH 14
Nearest cityLonavala
Websitewww.aambyvalley.com

Aamby Valley City is a township developed by the Sahara India Pariwar on the outskirts of Pune, India.

Construction and connectivity

The city, founded in 2006,[1] is spread over 10,600 acres (4,300 ha) of hilly terrain in the Sahyadri hills of the Western Ghats. It is about 23 km (14 mi) from Lonavala, 87 km (54 mi) from the city of Pune and 120 km (75 mi) from the city Mumbai.[2] The township is connected by road from Lonavala. The township has an airstrip that stopped functioning in late 2016.[2] It has an average annual rainfall of 4,000 mm (160 in) from June to September.

Marketed to India's super-rich,[3] the city was developed in five phases.[4] It was designed and master planned by Gruen–Bobby Mukherji & Associates in the year 2003.[5][6] It is almost entirely owned and operated by Sahara and related entities.[7] It has between 600–800 luxury bungalows priced between ₹5 crore to ₹20 crore.[2][8]

Three large man made lakes have been created by constructing dams. The largest lake is 1.5 km in length. The city is spread over 10,000 acres and ten villages near Lonavala[9] and boasts of an airstrip, helipads, shopping complexes, 256 acres PGA approved 18-hole golf course,[10][11] captive power plant, two small dams, an international school, and a hospital. The township has multiple luxury restaurants and a lagoon with an artificial beach adjacent to the replica of Varanasi ghat for cultural programs.[12]

In late 2016, the golf course and the airstrip stopped functioning.[2]

Financial troubles

Since its founding the city has faced variety of financial and legal troubles[13] for having received investments of ₹62,643 crore from deposits collected by four Sahara cooperative societies allegedly in violation of norms.[8][14] Per Sahara group, the Aamby Valley project was valued at about ₹1 trillion ($14.76 billion) in 2014, citing a Knight Frank India report. This high valuation claimed by Sahara was in contrast with the weakened financial profile of the project. According to Securities and Exchange Board of India, Aamby Valley posted an after-tax profit of ₹90 million in the 12 months ended March 2013 compared to ₹694 million in the July 2011-March 2012 period.[15][16] In 2018–19, the Aamby Valley project made a consolidated loss of ₹994 crore compared to a loss of ₹1,133 crore in the previous year. Its total income came down to ₹958 crore in 2018-19 from ₹1,530 crore a year ago.[8]

In 2016, the Tehsildar of Mulshi, a local revenue authority, sealed the gated township for non-payment of taxes. It was reopened the same day after Sahara group made a payment of ₹2.53 crore.[17][18][19]

Sales proceedings

In April 2017, the Supreme Court of India ordered the auction of Aamby Valley project to recoup ₹14,000 crore the company owes to duped investors.[12][20][21] The court set a seemingly high reserve price of ₹37,000 crore, which led to limited interest and only two bids and no buyers in the end.[12][14][22][23][24] In July 2018, after failing to attract prospective buyers, the supreme court deferred the auction and allowed to city to be under control of the Sahara Parivar.[25][26] In 2019, the court decided to continue with the auction.[27]

In January 2020, the supreme court appointed a receiver to manage Aamby Valley and to explore a new auction.[28]

Sponsorship

In 2014, Aamby Valley inked a 4-year $14 million sponsorship deal with Bangladesh national cricket team.[29] Without citing any reasons, the Bangladesh Cricket Board ended the contract 15 months before it was scheduled to end.[30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Aamby Valley Ltd - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hakim, Sharmeen (1 December 2017). "Sahara case: Once a place for India's richest to unwind, Amby Valley is now deserted". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  3. ↑ Foster, Peter (31 March 2006). "Valley of dreams for India's new super-rich". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  4. ↑ Gandhi, Sagar S. (2007). Large-Scale Urban Development in India - Past and Present. Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects (Report). Stanford University. p. 12. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "For Sale: Aamby Valley City In Maharashtra Worth $6bn To Be Auctioned". World Architecture Community. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  6. ↑ "HOT 100 2017: Bobby Mukherji & Associates". Architect and Interiors India. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "Sahara's Aamby Valley up for sale: Read details of who owns how much". Business Standard India. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Narayan, Khushboo; Kulkarni, Sushant (7 September 2020). "Aamby Valley in Sahara probe: Over Rs 62,000 cr depositors' cash in loss-making firm". The Indian Express. Mumbai, Pune. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  9. ↑ Hakim, Sharmeen (11 December 2017). "Sahara's Aamby Valley shutdown throws life out of gear at nearby villages". Mumbai Mirror. PTI. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Five Facts About Sahara Group's Aamby Valley Project Which Is On Auction". Moneycontrol.com. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  11. ↑ Singh, Paarth (9 August 2020). "At par". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 Sinha, Bhadra (17 April 2017). "Blow to Sahara, SC orders auction of Aamby Valley". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  13. ↑ Joshi, Yogesh (7 February 2017). "Sahara's Aamby Valley: A dream city caught in legal quagmire". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  14. 1 2 Khanna, Sundeep (19 September 2017). "Low interest in Aamby Valley auction shows limitations of private cities". Mint. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Sahara's Aamby Valley struggles to stay afloat". Deccan Chronicle. Reuters. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  16. ↑ Subramanian, N. Sundaresha (27 April 2017). "Number crunching: Just how much is Sahara's Aamby Valley worth?". Business Standard India. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Sahara's Aamby Valley sealed over non-payment of dues". Hindustan Times. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "Aamby Valley sealed, reopened after Sahara Group pays tax dues". The Economic Times. PTI. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  19. ↑ Mehta, Tejas (1 March 2016). "Sahara's Aamby Valley Reopens After Being Sealed For Hours". NDTV. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  20. ↑ Chaturvedi, Arpan (23 November 2017). "Supreme Court Orders Fresh Auction Of Aamby Valley Property". Bloomberg Quint. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  21. ↑ "Office of Official Liquidator: Mumbai High Court" (PDF). 14 August 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  22. ↑ "Aamby Valley auction process begins at Rs37,000 crore reserve price". Live Mint. PTI. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  23. ↑ "Aamby Valley auction said to attract just two bidders". Live Mint. PTI. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  24. ↑ "No takers for Sahara's Aamby Valley properties: Official liquidator tells SC". DNA India. PTI. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  25. ↑ Prakash, Satya. "Sahara saves Aamby Valley as no buyer turns up". The Tribune. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  26. ↑ Joshi, Yogesh (25 July 2018). "Sahara regains control of Aamby Valley, Roy assures normalcy to staff". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  27. ↑ "Auction process of Sahara's Aamby Valley property to continue: SC". Deccan Herald. PTI. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  28. ↑ Subramanian, N. Sundaresha (24 November 2017). "SC appoints official receiver to manage Aamby Valley". Business Standard India. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  29. ↑ "Bangladesh land record sponsorship deal". ESPNcricinfo. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  30. ↑ Isam, Mohammad (3 April 2015). "BCB ends contract with Aamby Valley". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
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