Mumbai:
The Bombay High Court is set to hear today a petition filed by Lavasa Corporation challenging a show cause notice from the Environment Ministry.
Lavasa, which is setting up a hill city near Pune, has alleged in the Bombay High Court that the show cause notice issued by the ministry, objecting to further developments at the site, was issued "in a haste and without following the principles of natural justice".
Lavasa's petition said the Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh was "biased and had prejudged the matter by issuing the notice without giving a hearing to the company". The project has already pitted Ramesh against NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who has come to the defence of Lavasa.
Promoted by Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), Lavasa is developing a township in Mulshi taluka of Pune district at an estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crore.
MoEF's show-cause notice, served to the company on November 25, alleged that the company did not obtain environmental clearances before starting construction and asked it to file reply in 15 days. The notice also asked the company not to carry out further development at the site.
Lavasa has alleged that the notice had been issued under pressure of political activists and it appeared that an effort was made by them to stall the company's IPO.
It said that even before issuing the notice, the information was leaked to activists like Medha Patkar and Prakash Ambedkar who in turn informed the media that the minister had given a status quo on the first phase of the project.
Lavasa alleged that before taking the drastic action of issuing the notice, the ministry did not verify allegations made by activists about violation of laws. (With PTI inputs)