Sahara's Aamby Valley up for auction at Rs 37K cr

Mumbai: In a major setback to the Subrata Roy-owned Sahara Group, the Bombay High Court on Monday put up its prestigious Aamby Valley property in Maharashtra for a public auction. The Official Liquidator (OL) for the Aamby Valley City in Lonavala has put up a reserve price of Rs 37,392 crore, as part of efforts to partially recover the pending dues to various lenders. The development came three days after the Supreme Court declined to entertain the Sahara Group's plea to postpone auction of the prime hill station property nestled in the lush green Western Ghats in Pune district. Bombay High Court OL Vinod Sharma issued notices in prominent media on Monday for the public auction of "sale/lease" on an "as-is-where-is-whatever-there is' of the Aamby Valley City, around 90 km from here. In view of the huge quantum of properties to be disposed, the auction would be conducted in two phases spread over two days, the OL said. The property comprises an integrated hill-city township called Aamby Valley City Development, which was the first of its kind Megalopolis, spread over 6,761.64 acres, land measuring 1,409.87 acres surrounding this project and another 321.66 acres within adjoining Satara district. Describing the property for the prospective bidders, the OL said it is situated over a verdant expanse, nested amidst the picturesque environs of the great Sahyadri Mountain range. "The ultra-exclusive chartered city has residential options ranging from the Timber Chalets to fabulously modern and customized villas in distinct architectural styles and several amenities such as gold course, airport, hospital, adventure sports, retail, entertainment, international school and hospitality," the OL's auction notice said.