Row continues over Lavasa Lake Resort project

Pune: In Maharashtra the state government is caught in a new land controversy. After it cleared 25 thousand acres of land acquired from farmers for a lake resort near Pune, social activists are calling for the Centre to intervene claiming the land deal has no environment clearance.

This controversy is rousing three months after Maharashtra's revenue minister Narayan Rane had ordered an enquiry into the transfer of land from farmers to Lavasa Corporation in the lake resort city near Pune. There has been a sudden shift in the revenue minister's stand. He has now ordered Pune collector to clear the transfer and this action has not gone down well with social activists in Maharashtra.

While citizens groups have already taken the issue to Bombay High Court saying the state government has no authority to give clearance to Lavasa and it has to come from the Centre, now activists are threatening that an agitation will mean political trouble for Lavasa itself.

Some of the objections raised by the activists with the Lavasa project are:

·Lavasa violates the Environment Protection Act 1986

·A lot of rare species of trees in the tropical zone will be destroyed

·The construction at Lavasa is happening on hilltops that are over 1000 ft above sea level and hence this requires special permission from Union Environment Ministry.

· 25 thousand acres of land have been taken over from farmers for the project.

· Water for the project is being sourced from Pune, which already suffers from water shortage.

Though the authorities of Lavasa Project claim to have obtained environmental clearances, activists say the permission has come only from Maharashtra government. The activists believe the Nationalist Congress party leaders’ proximity to the promoters has ensured the clearances, which are not credible and that's the reason they want scrutiny from the Central government.

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