Lavasa

Rs 4,000 cr stuck in Lavasa

Jan 18 2011 , Pune

Ministry says city project is unauthorised, but offers to consider it on merits

The ministry of environment and forests on Tuesday ordered Lavasa Lake City project near

Pune, undertaken by HCC, to maintain status quo, saying it was unauthorised as it had violated green laws.

However, the ministry said it was prepared to consider the project on merits subject to imposition of penalties, creation of an environmental restoration fund and formulation of a comprehensive environmental impact assessment and management plan.

According to Ajit Gulabchand, chairman of Lavasa Corporation and CMD of HCC, his company has been losing nearly Rs 2 crore daily since the November 25 stay order on the project, which would have got an investment of Rs 40,000 crore in 10 years. From its high of Rs 132.45 on January 2, 2008, HCC shares have plunged 70 per cent and on Tuesday they closed 3.98 per cent down at Rs 39.80.

The ministry, which submitted its January 17 report to the Bombay high court, said the three-day site inspection report by the central expert appraisal committee, headed by Naresh Goyal, an IAS officer, had brought out “the nature and the magnitude of environmental damage caused by the project”.

“As such, the construction activity is unauthorised, as the project had violated the EIA notification of 1994, 2004 and 2006,” the ministry said in a 74-page report. The case will be heard on January 27.

MoEF cited the investment already incurred (Rs 4,000 crore), third-party rights which are accrued, steps taken for establishing a comprehensive hill station, employment generation and the claimed uplift of the area as reasons for considering the project again.

The project promoters and their supporters on one side, and a Medha Patkar-led alliance of affected villagers on the other, everyone has had an opportunity to air their views, concerns, care or angst to the 11-member ministry team. The court had ordered...