Lavasa is Maharashtra’s 2G moment for opposition

Emboldened by the Union environment ministry’s admonishing gaze on Lavasa township for flouting green norms, the state opposition parties on Tuesday drilled into the state government during the winter assembly session.

On its part, while admitting irregularities in procurement of the 100-sq-km land for the planned hill station near Pune, and promising to examine individual cases of land allotment, it turned down the opposition’s demand of an investigation by a joint legislative committee, which resulted in the latter’s walk out.

Revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat said his department has come across irregularities committed by Lavasa Corporation while acquiring land for the project.

It was bought by the corporation under the Land Ceilings Act without following rules. It has been found that private parties bought the land on behalf of the company, the minister said.

Thorat also announced that if forcible acquisition of Adivasi land comes to light, the government will restore the land to its original owners.

“The local administration had made appeal to the local Adivasis to complain if they felt deceived, but has received none so far. This proves there was no objection by any land holder,” he added.

Devendra Phadanvis of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), however, alleged that the state government had bent all rules to favour Lavasa Corp. He said that the objection raised by the Union environment ministry last month, was first brought up by the urban development department in 2008, but the government had failed to take action.

Turning the heat back on the opposition, Thorat said that most of the allegations raised by the opposition are baseless as the preliminary sanction to the project was given by the Sena Sena-BJP government in 1996 and 1999.

“The Hill Station policy was introduced in 1996, while the project was offered industry status in 1999 during the tenure of the saffron combine,” he said.

Dissatisfied with the government’s reply, the opposition staged a walk out.