Lavasa lands in trouble for flouting green laws

Lavasa Corporation Ltd. | Construction - Real Estate | Construction & Infrastructure | BSE: 0 | NSE:

29 Nov 2010 Evaluate

The Union environment ministry has issued a show-cause notice to Lavasa Corporation, which is constructing a 25,000-acre hill township near Pune, alleging myriad violation of environmental laws. The company, promoted by a clutch of investors led by Hindustan Construction Co, will have to stop construction work immediately.

The high-profile project, described as independent India’s first hill city, may get away by paying a “hefty penalty” according to sources in the environment ministry. This penalty will have to be paid if the company is unable to explain violations including construction above 1,000 metres from the sea level, and construction without prior clearance over an area more than 20,000 sq.mts. The second phase of the project is unlikely to receive clearance in the wake of the new findings.

The environment ministry had sought a report from the Maharashtra environment department in June after a complaint by an NGO called the National Alliance of People’s Movement. The state government arm responded in August saying that a no-objection certificate by it was later converted into a final environmental clearance based on two assumptions: buildings had been built below 1,000 metres, and the proposed construction was limited to an area less than 2,000 hectres. Both limits have been breached, the stare government’s report says.