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Dark clouds seem to be once again looming large over Hindustan Construction Company's ambitious Lavasa Lake City project, as the Maharashtra government plans to file an environmental violation case against the company in Pune court tomorrow.
“We are preparing documents to file a case against Lavasa Corporation for violating Environment (Protection) Act 1986. Most probably, we will file a case against the company tomorrow,” the State Environment Minister, Mr Sanjay Devtale, told PTI here today.
“We will send a detailed report to the Environment Ministry after filing a case against the company (Lavasa Corporation),” he said.
On June 10, the Union Environment Ministry had asked the Maharashtra government to take necessary action against the Lavasa Corporation, as a part of its construction has been undertaken without a green nod.
In a letter to the State government, the Union Ministry said that during an appraisal of request for green clearance for the development of 2,000-hectare Hill Station Township “it was found that constructions/developments in 681 hectare area was in progress without obtaining prior environmental clearance.”
Noting that it had earlier issued showcause notices on November 25 last year and “final directions” on January 17 this year, the Ministry said the constructions/developments in the 681 hectare area “are violations” of Environment (Protection) Act 1986.
The action comes even as the Environment Ministry prepares to make known its decision on the Phase-I of the controversial project on June 15, when the matter comes up in the Bombay High Court.
The Ministry will take the decision on the basis of a report of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), which has recommended conditional approval to Lavasa Corporation.
EAC, set up by the Ministry, has made recommendations but those have a “very large number of conditions” attached to them, said Mr Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests, last week.
“The full picture will be presented to the court,” he said.
When asked about Lavasa's statement welcoming EAC recommendations, Mr Ramesh said, “Any welcome or criticism is, therefore, premature and could well be misplaced.”
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