Cricketer Rohit Sharma’s Lonavala villa sold for 5.25 crore is one of the largest real estate transactions. Sushma Ashok Saraf, a Mumbai-based buyer, has acquired the 6,329-square-foot home. Sharma paid 26.25 lakh in stamp duty for this purchase, according to zapkey.com, which acquired the registration records. She signed the contract on June 1, 2021, for Rohit Sharma’s Lonavala villa.
Many Mumbai and Pune people have acquired second homes in Lonavala, which is a popular weekend getaway.
The hill station is popular for several reasons, according to Anuj Gangwar, business development manager of Safal Group, who works with real estate and hospitality in Lonavala.
“It has excellent connectivity as Mumbai citizens can arrive within two hours. It offers a variety of cuisine right from local dishes to continental and boasts of various scenic places to visit, and has excellent infrastructure,” said Gangwar. Villas in Safal likewise range in price from Rs. 1.50 crore to Rs. 10 crores.
Other towns in the Mumbai region such as Karjat, Shahpur, Alibaug, and Khopoli have also become popular second-home destinations.
Environmentalists also bemoan the fact that unrestricted development has wreaked havoc on the ecology in these entry points.
“These scenic natural beauties especially Lonavala have turned into concrete jungles. The entire area is devastated by uncontrolled construction and rules are tweaked to favor the construction lobby,” said noted environmentalist Debi Goenka.