No Takers for Lavasa Over Fall In Realty Prices

Top suitors of Lavasa Corporation, including Haldiram Snacks Pvt Ltd and Oberoi Realty, have quit the race to acquire the debt-laden company, citing falling real estate prices due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A subsidiary of construction major HCC, Lavasa had defaulted on bank loans worth Rs 7,700 crore, prompting its lenders to send it to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in 2018 for debt resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Axis Bank has made the highest claim of Rs 1,266 crore against the company. According to a banking source, demand for real estate has dried up due to the pandemic, with customers as well as companies conserving their cash. Originally set up by HCC in 2000, Lavasa was developed as a picturesque hill station near Pune in Maharashtra. It defaulted on bank loans after the environment ministry issued a stop-work order to the project in 2010. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, even the weekend traffic in the township has dropped to zero.