Green nod for Lavasa on cards

With the Bombay high court making it clear that it would grant no further extension to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) for passing the final order on Lavasa, Ajit Gulabchand, chief of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), now hopes of a green clearance.

"We hope the MoEF will issue the order giving environment clearance by November 10," Gulabchand said on Tuesday.

The additional solicitor general had informed the high court that the final order, either rejecting or allowing the Lavasa plea for its planned hill station project near Pune, would "be passed in accordance with law…within three weeks."

The HC bench headed by Justice D D Sinha had in it order on a petition filed by Lavasa Corporation against the MoEF said: "We are restraining ourselves at this stage to express our opinion about the manner in which the issue is handled by the respondents (MoEF). However, we want to make it absolutely clear that the time of three weeks granted by the court as prayed for passing the final order on the February 2011 application of the petitioners shall not be extended in any circumstances."