The Bombay High Court, hearing the petition of the Lavasa Corporation Ltd. against the stay on construction issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), asked on Thursday if “restricted clearance” could be given to those works which were not damaging to the environment.
The matter has been adjourned to December 21.
Condition
“Rightly or wrongly, they [Lavasa] have been permitted to carry out development [work]. Therefore, [we want to know] if restricted clearance can be given. Find out what kind of construction work [Lavasa] can carry out. It will be carried out at their own risk, on the condition that there is least damage to the environment or the damage done is retrievable. We won't allow cutting of hills or augmenting of the reservoir,” the court told Additional Solicitor-General Darius Khambatta.
MoEF's permission
Mr. Khambatta said as per the law the company was required to take the MoEF's permission.
Impact study
The division bench of Justices D.K. Deshmukh and N.D. Deshpande suggested that Lavasa could give a list of construction activities proposed and its priorities to the MoEF. The Ministry could then study the impact of these works.
