HC stays direction to stop Lavasa's construction

The Bombay high court on Tuesday stayed the Environment Ministry's direction to Lavasa corporation to stop construction at the proposed hill station in Pune district.

The high court, which was hearing Lavasa's petition, directed the ministry to give the corporation a hearing on whether it could have stayed the construction at Lavasa without giving a prior hearing.

The MoEF will have to pass the order on this issue by December 16.

Lavasa Corporation's lawyer made a voluntary statement in the court that no construction will be carried out till December 16. The High Court will hear the matter further on the same day.

The court also directed the ministry to give a hearing to the NGO National Alliance of People's Movement which had initially complained against the Lavasa project.

On November 25, the ministry had issued a show-cause notice to Lavasa, demanding an explanation as to why it did not obtain clearances as per rules under Environment Protection Act, amended by notifications in 1994 and 2004.

It also asked the corporation, which is developing a hill station in Mulshi taluka of Pune district, to stop the ongoing construction.

The HC recorded the statement of the Additional Solicitor General that the word 'ante' in the show cause notice is an error and should be ignored.

The high court has also directed the Director of Ministry of Environment and Forests to hear Lavasa Corporation regarding the question of grant or otherwise status quo on December 9, 2010.

The director has to pass an order in this regard by December 16, 2010.

Lavasa Corporation has voluntarily given a statement that the company will not undertake construction work at Lavasa till December 16.

The writ petition filed by Lavasa Corporation has been kept pending by the High Court and the hearing has been adjourned to December 16.