Maharashtra: Lavasa Plunges into Darkness as Authorities Disconnect Power
Lavasa city near Pune, a picturesque hill station, plunged into darkness on 17th September as Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (MSEDCL) decided to disconnect all the electricity connections of Lavasa Corporation Ltd. (LCL) on account of non-payment of their electricity dues.
As a result, the water treatment plant, the sewage treatment plant, street lighting and the other facilities managed by LCL went without power. Power supply to the individual residential units however, was not affected as they have their individual electricity meters and pay to MSEDCL directly.
As per the messages sent by Lavasa Corporation to their residents, it is currently managing the situation with backup diesel generators to power up the basic amenities like water supply and sewage treatment but the town plunges into darkness due to the lack of street lighting in the evening.
Lavasa houses over 3000 students, faculty members, and the staff of Christ University, which is located there. Besides, there are also over 500 senior citizens who have made Ashiana Housing, a premium residential complex for the elderly, as their home in Lavasa. All of them are suffering and they are worried as to how long the city can survive on backup power and once the resources run out, what happens to the fate of Lavasa residents?
Lavasa Corporation has approached the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the electricity disconnection, but the matter is still under consideration. In the meantime, Christ University, located in Lavasa is trying to help everyone with its own resources, but for how long?
Meanwhile many residents have taken to the social media to express their concern and uncertainty.
Another resident tweeted;
If this matter drags on for long, Lavasa may not be able to sustain with its limited resources as the management is already going through a cash crunch. It may be noted that Lavasa, a subsidiary of HCC, was filed for bankruptcy in 2018, due to the large outstanding owed by it to a consortium of banks that funded the project.
Lavasa is the first privately planned & managed hill city in India located in the Sahyadri Mountain Range. It ran into problems in 2009-10 when many environmental activists raised red flags over the alleged flouting of environmental norms and illegal construction in ecologically sensitive areas. Consequently, in late 2010, the Ministry of Environment and Forests ordered to halt the construction activities. After a detailed review, the go ahead was given in late 2011 with a reduced scope of project. However, by this time, Lavasa had already lost precious time and suffered heavy cost escalation that eventually derailed the entire project, leading up to bankruptcy in 2018. After that many efforts were made to revive the project but no concrete changes were visible on the ground.
