1.1 Introduction
Lavasa is a private, planned city being built near Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is stylistically based on the Italian town Portofino. A 25,000 acres (100 km2) or 8,000 acres (32 km2) project being developed by Hindustan Construction Company [1], this as-yet-incomplete city has been controversial for multiple reasons including procurement of land, harm to the environment, and loans acquired through political corruption. In our term paper we will be mainly focusing on the violation of Environmental laws i.e. Environment Protection Act,1986, Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), 1994 including haphazard cutting of hills. Incidentally, environment clearance was issued for development of a 2,000- hectare township hill station. However, …show more content…
It is the responsibility of the state and its agencies to make corporations abide by the rules of the land. In this case, Lavasa flouted several regulations, thanks to state support given in the form of various clearance Many attempts by environmentalists, social activists and villagers to raise the issue at all levels of government have failed. It’s time the state government made its position clear. Lavasa may not be the only hill station in the lush of Maharashtra. In Pune district itself, three companies— Satind Infrastructure Private Ltd, Aqualand India Private Ltd and Maharashtra Valley View Private Limited—are planning to build hill stations in the Sahyadris. Any developer with 400 hectares of land can go ahead and build his dream town. But the fragile ecology of the Western Ghats may take a beating and a day will come when it won’t be able to take more pressure. In Lavasa a number of laws changed. Some for the interest of the politicians and some for corporate but where is the interest of the common people?? This is the question that is needed to be answered. Lavasa is an example of how the government or the political powerful people can twist and turn the laws because they assume that no one can question them. But with the current media and communication truth never gets hidden.But ultimately the powerful people won this battle and Lavasa housing project is standing at its place proudly. There are lessons that need to be learnt from Lavasa, else more townships will emerge in the hills by bending laws and breaking regulations. [10]As Plato rightly said: “The community suffers nothing very terrible if its cobblers are bad and become degenerate and pretentious; but if the guardians of its laws and constitution, who alone have the opportunity to bring it good government and prosperity, become a mere sham, then clearly it is completely
Lavasa is a private, planned city being built near Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is stylistically based on the Italian town Portofino. A 25,000 acres (100 km2) or 8,000 acres (32 km2) project being developed by Hindustan Construction Company [1], this as-yet-incomplete city has been controversial for multiple reasons including procurement of land, harm to the environment, and loans acquired through political corruption. In our term paper we will be mainly focusing on the violation of Environmental laws i.e. Environment Protection Act,1986, Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), 1994 including haphazard cutting of hills. Incidentally, environment clearance was issued for development of a 2,000- hectare township hill station. However, …show more content…
It is the responsibility of the state and its agencies to make corporations abide by the rules of the land. In this case, Lavasa flouted several regulations, thanks to state support given in the form of various clearance Many attempts by environmentalists, social activists and villagers to raise the issue at all levels of government have failed. It’s time the state government made its position clear. Lavasa may not be the only hill station in the lush of Maharashtra. In Pune district itself, three companies— Satind Infrastructure Private Ltd, Aqualand India Private Ltd and Maharashtra Valley View Private Limited—are planning to build hill stations in the Sahyadris. Any developer with 400 hectares of land can go ahead and build his dream town. But the fragile ecology of the Western Ghats may take a beating and a day will come when it won’t be able to take more pressure. In Lavasa a number of laws changed. Some for the interest of the politicians and some for corporate but where is the interest of the common people?? This is the question that is needed to be answered. Lavasa is an example of how the government or the political powerful people can twist and turn the laws because they assume that no one can question them. But with the current media and communication truth never gets hidden.But ultimately the powerful people won this battle and Lavasa housing project is standing at its place proudly. There are lessons that need to be learnt from Lavasa, else more townships will emerge in the hills by bending laws and breaking regulations. [10]As Plato rightly said: “The community suffers nothing very terrible if its cobblers are bad and become degenerate and pretentious; but if the guardians of its laws and constitution, who alone have the opportunity to bring it good government and prosperity, become a mere sham, then clearly it is completely