Company Name : Generic Source : The Times Of India

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has repeated its earlier order to Lavasa Corporation, an arm of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), to freeze all activity on development of a hill city near Pune.

 

 

MoEF’s earlier stop-work order was part of a showcause notice it had sent to the company on November 25, to explain charges of envronmental non-clearance. Lavasa challenged the notice in the high court. The HC declined to stay the order, but asked MoEF to inspect the site and examine the state of affairs and the developer’s explanations before proceeding.

 

Today’s order is based on a report filed by an MoEF committee headed by former IAS officer Naresh Dayal, following a three-day visit to the project site on January 5-7. The committee had received representations from both the supporters and those against the hill city project.

 

A company spokesperson confirmed receiving the order. “The MoEF order is being currently studied by our legal team and we will react accordingly,” he said.

 

The company is losing Rs 2 crore every day because work has come to a halt. So far, it has incurred a loss of Rs 106 crore, it says. It has alleged “ulterior motives” in stopping the work, saying it had fully abided by the relevant laws.

 

MoEF’s showcause notice said the proposed luxury township had got clearance in 2004 to construct only on 2,000 hectares on land less than 1,000 metres above sea level. However, investigations by the Pune collector revealed that 47.30 ha of the land on which the promoters had started construction was above 1,000 metres. Further, the ministry said, deviations were made from the approved plan during the first phase of construction that began in 2004, and the developers did not obtain clearance from MoEF for this. The ministry also said the company did not get the necessary clearances following an amendment to the environment regulations in the same year.

 

Lavasa reiterated that it had not constructed anything above 1,000 metres, the only exception being the entry gate, a symbolic structure on the main access road to Lavasa. The first development was about two km from the gate and was at an altitude of 925 metres. The highest point where development was being carried out was 975 metres from the sea level. However, the bulk of the development represented by the town centres was around the lake edge, which was 640 metres high, it contended.