Environment ministry team to visit Lavasa site

After hearing the Lavasa Corporation last week, environment ministry today decided to send a technical team soon to the site of the township near Pune, whose construction is held up for want of environmental clearance.

The ministry will also submit its reply in the Mumbai high court on January 10 in connection with a petition filed by Lavasa challenging the stay on construction ordered by the ministry.

"A technical team of the ministry will visit Lavasa soon, environment minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters in New Delhi.

The team is expected to make an on-the-spot assessment of the controversial Rs3,000 crore hill project and give a report to the minister.

The ministry had on November 25 issued an order, directing stoppage of work at the site. Lavasa had approached the Mumbai high court to challenge the ministry's directive.

However, on December 14, the ministry refused to lift its "stop-work" order, citing "lack of clarity" on the details submitted by the Lavasa Corporation and "large-scale environmental degradation" in the region.

The ministry had said a final decision in the case will be taken by the month-end after hearing the company again.

"...Ministry is of the considered opinion that the directions issued under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to Lavasa Corporation Ltd on November 25 to stop project activities going on at the site should continue till the final analysis is undertaken...," the ministry order said.

The ministry had last week heard Lavasa Corporation and asked it to submit data in a fresh format before the matter could be decided.

Along with Lavasa, representatives of Medha Patkar's National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and local villagers also presented their views before the ministry over the project.

On the environment ministry's stay on Lavasa construction being challenged in court, Ramesh said a reply will be submitted in Mumbai high court on January 10.

Lavasa has alleged in the high court that the show-cause notice issued on November 25, objecting to further developments at the site, was issued "in haste and without following the principles of natural justice".

Lavasa's petition alleged that Ramesh was "biased and had prejudged the matter by issuing the notice without giving a hearing to the company".