Lavasa hill city project gets government nod...

The ministry of environment and forests’ clearance was granted on the condition that the developer is given the green light by the local state pollution board, and that various regulations are followed throughout construction

 Lavasa's multi-crore hill city project near Pune overcame the green hurdle with Union Environment Ministry granting clearance for its first phase subject to "strict compliance" of certain terms and conditions. 

The Ministry's decision came after the Maharashtra government filed a case against the promoters of Lavasa Hill City for alleged violations of the Environment Protection Act (EPA).

Filing of the case under the EPA was one of the key pre-conditions of the Environment Ministry for granting clearance to the first phase of the project.

The ministry had laid down five pre-conditions, as suggested by the Expert Appraisal Committee, for Lavasa to comply with before grant of environment clearance.

These conditions include demarcation of land usage which includes open spaces, diverting five per cent of its expenses for corporate social responsibility, creation of an environment restoration fund, which in turn will be monitored by a verification and monitoring committee and a submission by the company that violations would not be repeated.