Maharashtra starts criminal cases against Lavasa officials
November 4th, 2011 - 10:05 pm ICT by IANSPune, Nov 4 (IANS) After dilly-dallying for months, the Maharashtra government Friday initiated criminal proceedings against Lavasa Corporation Ltd. for violating environmental regulations at its ongoing hill city project near here, officials said.
In its case before Chief Judicial Magistrate N.T. Ghatge, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has named 15 company officials and charged them with violating Environment Protection Act, 1986, Sections 15 and 16.
The charges under these sections can attract punishment of five to seven years’ jail term.
The hearing in the case will start Nov 8.
“We have adhered to directives of the Bombay High Court in the matter and after consulting the law and judiciary ministry. Further action will be taken as per the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act and the directives by the Pune court,” state Environment Minister Sanjay Deotale told mediapersons Friday evening.
The action follows recent directions of the Bombay High Court to the state government to take “credible action” and the Oct 13 order of the union Ministry of Environment & Forests, stipulating certain conditions before the Lavasa project’s first phase could be cleared. The Lavasa township is located around 60 km from here and the first phase is spread over more than 7,200 hectares.
The officials named by the MPCB include six directors of the LCL board and nine other senior officials. These include: LCL chairman-cum-managing director Ajit Gulabchand, Shalaka Gulabchand, Aniruddha Deshpande, Vitthal Maniar and Gautam Thapar, against whom charges would be framed after the case scrutiny Saturday.
The National Alliance of Peoples’ Movement (NAPM) activist Vishwambhar Chaudhari, one of the petitioners in the case before the Bombay High Court, has also demanded that action should be taken against government officials who colluded in the matter.
“We shall plead before the Bombay High Court that the project should not be cleared till the trial is completed in the sessions court,” Chaudhari told media persons, referring to the scheduled hearing Nov 16.
- Maharashtra to review action against Lavasa - Nov 09, 2011
- Conditional green nod for Lavasa hill city project (Roundup) - Nov 09, 2011
- Lavasa welcomes central clearance for hill city - Nov 09, 2011
- Lavasa township project denied environment clearance - Oct 14, 2011
- Lavasa disappointed at environment ministry's extended stay - Dec 15, 2010
- Panel to visit Lavasa project in January: Ramesh - Dec 29, 2010
- Environment ministry to hear Lavasa Thursday - Dec 08, 2010
- Environment ministry to give Lavasa decision Wednesday - Dec 14, 2010
- No special treatment for Lavasa: Chavan - Nov 10, 2011
- Lavasa can't do any construction, says environment ministry - Jan 18, 2011
- Court upholds ministry's 'stop work' notice to Lavasa - Dec 22, 2010
- Lavasa applies afresh for environmental clearance - Feb 14, 2011
- Environment Ministry to submit Lavasa housing project report - Jan 18, 2011
- Maharashtra promises 'credible action' against Lavasa developers - Oct 20, 2011
- Lavasa can't build, has caused green damage: Environment ministry (Lead) - Jan 18, 2011
Tags: ajit, bombay high court, chaudhari, corporation ltd, criminal proceedings, deshpande, environment minister, environment protection act, gautam, jail term, judicial magistrate, maharashtra government, maharashtra pollution control board, ministry of environment, mpcb, peoples movement, pollution control board, state environment, thapar, union ministry