In what could be an indication that it would opt for an out-of-court settlement, Lavasa Corp on Wednesday sought to withdraw its petitions against the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) at the Bombay High Court. The company has withdrawn two of its petitions against the MoEF, one of which is against the showcause notice for ?stop-work? and the second, against the ministry?s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) report.
The decision was taken after Lavasa realised that the court is limited in their ambit regarding the removal of petitions and MoEF would be the deciding authority on the issue of resumption or environment clearance.
Lavasa?s counsel pointed out that it makes sense to withdraw the petition since the company is incurring R5 crore loss per day, totalling around R500 crore so far.
?Counsel for Lavasa Mukul Rohatgi and MoEF agreed to withdraw the petition, without prejudice to Lavasa?s right, given that the MoEF is considering the project and that Lavasa will formally apply to MoEF for environment clearance as the legal authority. This is also in consideration that the final order from MoEF is pending and in consideration of the larger good of the project. Lavasa can file a fresh appeal if it is not satisfied with the final order,? said a copy of the summary of court proceedings.
Lavasa has seen an investment of R4,000 crore so far. Hindustan Construction Company holds a 64.9% stake in Lavasa, with the Avantha Group having 16%, Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group 12.79% and a private investor 12.79%. HCC?s shares on the BSE on Wednesday closed at R37.70, up 4.14%.
Lavasa Corp had challenged a show cause notice and stop work order issued by MoEF on November 25. The ministry had said the company failed to secure necessary environmental clearances before starting work on its 5,000-plus hectare Lake City project coming up in Mulshi sub-district of Pune district, around 200 km from Mumbai.
In the hearing on Wednesday, the MoEF was of the view that they are willing to consider Lavasa?s application with five stringent conditions in specific as per the EAC recommendations. This means changes and corrections with fines as per the MoEF guidelines in contravention of the Environment Protection Act under 1986. However, this is a long drawn process which has already begun with the EAC visit of the site.