Jaipur : What rich and beautiful celebrities want they usually get, but Elizabeth Hurley’s dream of buying an “incredibly beautiful haveli” in the middle of a tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan may remain just a wish.

Tiger sanctuaries in Ranthambhore and Sariska are already reeling from heavy human traffic and the authorities would rather keep off visitors than help them settle down there.

According to government rules, human settlement is prohibited within 1km of the sanctuaries.

So grave is the problem that the Rajasthan government is working hard on shifting villages located inside the sanctuaries with offers of hefty compensation.

Hurley, who married tycoon Arun Nayar in Jodhpur’s Umaid Bhawan Palace in February 2007, has always been fascinated with Rajasthan, the land synonymous with romance and chivalry. Even before she tied the knot, Hurley had visited Udaipur and the nearby Devigarh fort a number of times.

The couple, tired of the constant media glare, had earlier moved to a 400-acre farm in the countryside of London and Hurley has been looking for a holiday home in peaceful environs for quite sometime now.

The actress, in an interview to The Independent newspaper of London, said she has zeroed in on a haveli in Rajasthan. “It’s a haveli, a town villa, in the middle of the tiger sanctuary. It’s incredibly beautiful, and so peaceful you feel you could tap back into your creativity and do some real fashion designing.”

But if she is willing to compromise on her wish, Hurley could yet find a haveli on the peripheries of the sanctuaries, that, too, for an affordable price.

Surendra Rajpurohit, managing director of real estate firm Blue Earth Consultants, said: “Hurley can find a haveli with 15 to 40 rooms within Rs 5 crore which perhaps would be too cheap for her. I think she would go in for a small fort or garh as it is called here, where the asking rate is now anything between Rs 20 crore and Rs 100 crore.”

Real estate agents said havelis are being sold at prices ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 5 crore. Since foreigners are not allowed to purchase havelis directly, they usually tie up with an Indian company or partner and then proceed with the deal.

The sale of a haveli is usually a complicated transaction since they have numerous owners, many of whom live outside Rajasthan and abroad. NRIs or NRRs (Non-Resident Rajasthanis), therefore, prefer to take these old but majestic residences on lease for 30 to 40 years instead of buying them outright.

Rajpurohit said those who have taken havelis on lease are paying Rs 2.5 lakh per month for properties in Achewar and Bharatpur districts.

These havelis, spread over the entire state, especially in the Shekhawati and Bikaner regions, have a unique architectural style and were built between 1750 and 1930.

The buildings were built around courtyards to ensure safety and privacy of women and protection from the long and harsh summers.

The havelis are usually spread over sprawling areas from about one to five bighas, have gardens, courtyards and an average of 30 rooms.

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