Lavasa execs meet Ramesh, seek 'negotiated solution'

After offering a lifeline to the controversial Lavasa hill city, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today said efforts are being made to find a "negotiated solution" on the stalled Rs 3,000-crore project in Pune.

"We are trying to find a negotiated solution...Trying to find a compromise," Ramesh told reporters when asked about his meeting with officials from the Hindustan Construction Company, which is undertaking the township project.

According to sources close to the development, company's Chairman and Managing Director Ajit Gulabchand and other officials met the minister at his office today.

Providing a ray of hope for Lavasa, which allegedly violated green norms, the Environment Ministry had said last week that it was prepared to consider the project being constructed near Pune on "merits" subject to fulfilment of certain conditions.

The Ministry, however, had ordered that no further construction should be undertaken for now.

Ramesh, who said that the government's meetings with Hindustan Construction Company Limited officials were still on, maintained that "we don't want to minimise the integrity of the environmental process."

"The environmental integrity has to be maintained," the Minister said.

He said that the company officials have "mentioned to me that the project needs to go forward".

"Now we are trying to see that how best the conditions can be fulfilled," Ramesh said.

The Minister said the court will consider the case on January 27. "Let us see what will happen," he added.

The Ministry's recent order had held that the construction is "unauthorised" involving "environmental degradation" and hence status quo should be maintained on construction on the project in accordance with the Ministry's November 25, 2010 order prohibiting any work at the site.