Lavasa gets 6 more weeks to pacify MoEF

Hindustan Construction Corporation’s hopes on a compromise with the Union ministry of environment and forests on the stalled Lavasa hill city project near Pune will need to be backed with a lot of work, indicated the government counsel in the high court today.

Lavasa Corporation, a subsidiary of HCC, had petitioned the HC after it got a stop-work and showcause notice from MoEF on November 25, on charges of diverse breaches of environmental rules. It was supposed to file a reply in the HC today and asked for an adjournment of six weeks, to be able to work on the ministry’s objections.

That was granted, but MoEF’s legal counsel said they were not looking at an out-of-court settlement. That came in the wake of meetings with environment minister Jairam Ramesh and HCC chairman Ajit Gulabchand saying the company would try to negotiate with MoEF.

The company declined to respond to an e-mailed query, saying the matter was in court and merely commented, “Lavasa Corporation is cooperating with the MoEF and exploring all possible options for an amicable solution. We will continue our dialogue with the Ministry and have submitted additional data as requested.”

On January 17, MoEF had said it was prepared for only conditional clearance. Lavasa, it said, would have to pay a substantial penalty, set up an environment restoration fund and rectify ecological degradation within a schedule. MoEF also said it would impose stringent terms to ensure against any further environmental spoilage.

The corporation said it had sent the documents asked for by the ministry in the January 17 order and needed time to send more and to work on a solution.

MoEF’s November 25 stop-work order was followed, after the HC took up the matter, by a visit of an inspection team to the site. The January 17 order was based on the team’s report.

The company had estimated it was incurring a daily loss of Rs 2 crore due to the stop-work order.