Lavasa A Case Study Synopsis Environmental Sciences Essay

Lavasa A Case Study come inline contactsal Sciences EssayLavasa is an independent Indias first planned pile city. The under- social system townsfolk is just an hours drive from Pune in the Mose Valley and the back irrigates of the calm Warasgaon dam area. This as-yet uncomplete city has been controersial for multiple reasons including procurement of sphere, harm to the milieu (water usage), and loans acquired by dint of political corruption. Till November 25 2010, the expression work at Lavasa was in full swing when the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) issued a stop-work order and receipt to Lavasa Corporation Limited (LCL).The reason given was that the company had failed to obtain environmental clearance from the Union ministry and had proceeded on the basis of a clearance from Maharashtras environment department. The ministrys Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), be in response to the populace interest petition moved by the National Alliance of People s Movements (NAPM), organize by activists and NGOs, in the high court of Mumbai for new infrastructure projects and coastal Regulation Z champion, said that planning and development of the whole project should be reworked as it violated environment laws, including haphazard cutting of hills. Lavasa challenged the ministrys order in the high court, saying it had taken the requisite clearances from the state and the ministry had no jurisdiction oer the project.LCL later applied for post facto clearance from MoEF for the first soma of the project, on February 1 Lavasa is organism developed in two phases of 2,000 ha and 3,000 ha.Lavasa About the projectLavasa Corporation Limited (LCL) is developing a hill station township project located 65 km from Pune in the Mose Valley and the backwaters of the calm Warasgaon dam area, set amidst 7 hills and 60 kms of lakefront. It is touted as independent Indias first planned hill city and is one of the largest theme Projects in the country. A t otal of 10,000 hectares (= 25,000 acres) land will be utilize for the project which includes mostly the farm land and private lumbers or forest like land.The development plan is spread over 20 days and would complete by 2025. It involves dynamic planning in phases.Phase I Dasve, Mugaon, Bhoni To establish Lavasa Brand .Development will be mostly mixed enjoyment with focus on front-loaded frugal driversPhase II Focus on meeting residential demand driven by means of development of economic activities and scaling up of tourism, hospitality, and leisure activitiesPhase III Sakhari, Wadaval In assenting to residential development, focus on developing a commercial problem districtPhase IV Bhode, Mose, Saiv Development of the second commercial business district.Statutory Authorities and their responsibilities at that place are majorly five agencies that are responsible for framing regulatory framework for environment and pollution control. These agencies give assorted roles to play as far as framing of policies and their application is concerned. This feces be easily differentiated in a tabular miscellaneaMinistry of Environment Forests (MOEF), Govt. of IndiaFormulate Strategies PoliciesFormulate rules acts and seek approval from Parliament act with Internation agenciesIssue environmental Clearance PermitsImplement Nationa SchemesMonitor the process through Regional OfficesCentral contaminant Control Board (CPCB), Govt. of IndiaPrepare good guidelinesProvide technical backup to MOEFProvide laboratory facility, monitor RD sanctioned ProceedingsImplement registration and other schemesMonitor through zonary OfficesDepartment of Environment (DOEN), State Govt.Formulate policies strategiesformulate rules, acts seeks approval from legislative Assembly CouncilCo-ordinate with MOEF CPCBIssue Environmental clearance permitsState Pollution Control Board (SPCB), State Govt.Consent management of IndustriesLegal legal proceedingProjects PlanningMo nitring aspectsDayal Committee A 10-member committee, constituted by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to survey the environment impact of Lavasa project.Environmental concerns violated in Lavasa project An analysisThe Lavasa has always been a contentious issue and a controversial project. For years, it has been darned for the serious environmental monetary values including flora and fauna and has been criticized by the Ministry of Environment and Forests for quarrying and hill cutting. However, Post reviewing the project, this ministry provided clearance on 9 November 2011 to Lavasa with special(prenominal) conditions, such as a cessation of hill cutting activities, structure of a sewage treatment plant, and anti-poverty CSR measures aimed at the local population.For a one year period from late 2010 to late 2011, construction of Lavasa had to be halted collectible to orders obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In late 2010 it ordered Lavasa Co rporation to halt yet construction for not having gathered proper clearances.Ministry of Environment and Forests found Lavasa to be violating the rules and regulations under the Environment protection act 1986. According to MOEF, LCL (Lavasa Corporation Ltd) is in rapine ofThe EIA Notification, 1994The EIA Notification, as amend in 2004 andThe EIA Notification of 2006.The site chaffer report has in like manner brought out the nature and magnitude of the environmental damage caused by the project. As such, the construction activity is unauthorized, beingness in entrancement of the above tether notifications and is to a fault environmentally damaging.Concept EIA is a motherfucker to assess positive and negative impacts of a project on surrounding area, population, vegetation, flora, fauna, property and overall environment.ComponentsAir Pollution (From Process and Fuel burning) pee Pollution (Industrial process, Effluents and sewage, Treatment and reuse) set ashore Pollution ( Chemical pollution, Waste substances, solid waste, treatment disposal)Noise Pollution ecology, Flora, Fauna, Fisheries, endangered speciesNatural Resources (Air, Water, Land, Rivers, Streams, Ponds Lakes, Hills, Forest,)Eco in the buff zone, Sanctuaries, Migration routes.Archeological sites, Roads, soldiery Establishments, Schools, Hospitals, Other social centersSocioEconomy, Rehabilitation, Resettlement, CompensationsDisaster Management, Risk AssessmentMajor Socio-Environmental ConcernsEcologyLavasa is in the province of WESTERN GHATS of INDIA which is among Worlds 20 most ecologically sensitive HOT SPOTS. Also, the UNESCO is considering declaring Western Ghats region as the World Heritage place according to media reports.Western Ghat is a crucial factor for Monsoon of India and other meteorologically important parametersThe committee has recorded that Lavasa has caused massive destruction of the ecology of the area, specially causing grave damage to hills, flora-fauna, water body, etcLandLand break to Adivasi (Tribal) Land which cant be sold or bought without the permission of the territorial dominion administration to a Non Tribal entity, in fact that Mulshi and Velhe talukas, where Lavasa is based, is not designated as a tribal district. In 1976, the Govt. of Maharashtra implemented land reforms in the area. A cutting filed at police by one tribe Bandya Bhau Valhekar is pending at MulshiThe project is spread over 18 villages consisting of various Gaothans (villages). in that respect are some adivasi communities in the affected area and that there has been a large scale diversion of ceiling surplus land which was dole out to these Adivasis and Nomadic Tribes.Also Ceiling land pop offs to the landless little pot as per Ceiling Act. (THE URBAN LAND (CEILING AND REGULATION) , ACT, 1976, No. 33 OF 1976)Land has been either by cheating or using muscule power, A poor farmer Dnyaneshwar Shedge has filed a complaint against Lavasa in one such subject The 80 odd Katkari families of tribal stock in this area belong to Raigadh District 47 of them are living in Mugaon village. They used to rally for seasonal agricultural labor to assist local farmers with rice refining before the paddy fields were lost to the Warasgaon dam. But when the lands were submerged, the displaced farmers began to cut trees for making charcoal.Many of those that Lavasa purchased land from are not local farmers but passel who were living in Pune, Mumbai, Dubai or even London. A good gawk of land was originally bought by a real estate degenerate called Expat Limited before Lavasa Corporation came into existence. Even today some of the investors of Expat have not sold their lands to Lavasa.Due to isolation, people had to walk 5-6 hr over hilly terrain to reach the nearest city in order to swop forest products like bamboo and charcoal. Consequently, this district became very sparsely populated with a total population of 3117 as per the 2001 census.Water re sourcesEffects on downstream users- Pune and further users, Pollution.The back water of the dams were filled with stone crushing textile and also that the villagers expressed that the project has adversely impacted their life and they are not willing to part with their land for any of the project activities.The Varasgaon dkm is an important dam for water supply to Pune city. The Water Recourses Department of government has sanctioned a quota of 1.03 TMC water to Lavasa, which was supposed to be the 1 calendar month utility of water by Pune city. Due to this reservoir very or so dries up in the hot summer months leading up to the monsoon. There are claims that water from Varasgaon is diverted to Lavasa and will aftermath in problems in water supply to Pune city.TownshipObjection to the cutting of hills for making roads, on the other pile it says that the roads were not wide enough for the evaluate trafficA world Class huge convention bosom does not go with the concept of a hil l station with solitary(prenominal) 9 meters access road, without adequate position provisions.Quite a a couple of(prenominal) residential buildings are without adequate open spaces, set back distances, parking spaces etcHeight of buildings was increased from G+2 to G+5, which was illegal in the original hill station policy.Social UnrestLand being acquired by hook or crook.Inadequate compensation.State machinery used to haul farmers.No proper plans to rehabilitate the farmers affected.Lavasa has been granted permissions in quick epoch by bending / breaking the law.Land leased for 30 yrs by govt. which in fact will never be returned and is as good as sold.Environment and Environmental LawsIt was mandatory for Lavasa to seek PRIOR Environmental Clearance from the arrogate authorities under EIA Notifications 1994, 2004 and 2006. However none of them was obtained from the appropriate authorities.NAPM pointed out this to Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) Govt of India whic h in turn issued a STOP lock notice to Lavasa on 25th November 2010.Lavasa moved to High Court against MOEF order, as yet the High Court rejected Lavasas request to allow continuation of construction work. The works at project site came to halt.MoEF constituted Dayal Committee and further Ravindran Committee which recommended that Lavasa should be asked to pay 5% of the project cost as the Environment testimonial Fund in lieu of the environmental damages caused by it.Dayal Committee Report and its outcomeThe Dayal committee visited the site from 5th-7th January, 2011 and inspected both Construction, every site of the project, assessed the environmental state and accordingly submitted the report to the MoEF which include a list of damages that the LCL has caused to the environment conditions .However the electric chair of the committee is being criticized for pointing out very Minor issue and damages to the environment.After three days of on-the-spot assessment, the 11-member te am of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) declared that the Lavasa project had caused no destruction of forests.The statement given by the chairman Mr. Dayal of the committee was major facie, forest destruction does not seem to have happened in case of Lavasa.The committee also reported that no reduction in water supply to Pune city was found to have occurred as a result of the project. The Dayal committee apparently gave a clean-chit to Lavasa mainly on two issues electric shock on forests and environmentImpact on the water supply to Pune cityDiffering IssuesMOEFLavasa Corporation LimitedLCL (Lavasa Corporation Ltd) is in violation of (i) the EIA Notification, 1994 (ii) the EIA Notification, as amended in 2004and (iii) the EIA Notification of 2006.The site visit report has also brought out the nature and magnitude of the environmental damage caused by the project. As such, the construction activity is unauthorised, being in violation of the above three notifications and is also environmentally damaging.The MoEF order is more on jurisdiction than on environment issues.However, having regard to the above but taking into account all the facts and hazard of the case, particularly thesubmissions made with regard to the investments already incurred, third-party rights which are accrued, the various steps taken for establishment of a comprehensive hill stationdevelopment, the usance generated and the claimed upliftment of the area under consideration, MoEF (Ministry of Environement and Forests) is prepared to consider the project on merits with the craft of various terms and conditions,including the followingThe payment of substantial penalty for the violation of environmental laws, which is incontrovertibleOver and above the penalty, creation of an Environmental damages Fund (ERF) by LCL with sufficiently large corpus which would be managed by an independent body with various stakeholders under the overall supervision of MoEF double-dealing of stringe nt terms and conditions, to ensure that no further environmental humiliation takes place and that any degradation that has already occurred would be rectified inwardly a time-bound schedule.MoEF does not have objective and measurable norms. Therefore, instead of constricting themselves to environmental issues, it has resorted to questioning state governmentjurisdiction, Special Planning Authority, MKVDC land transfer, land purchase, Lavasa master plan approval by collector, Hill postal service policy, regional development plan, MRTP Act, etc. These haves nothing to do with environmental issues.Naresh Dayal, chairman of the technical committee, after completing his site visit made a statement to the media in Pune that there was no major environmental degradation and yet the report seems to magnify minor environmental issues to justify sequel of the stop work order.There were more than 1,000 villagers supporting Lavasa, whereas those supporting Medha Patkar were a mere dozen. Ye tthe committee gives more space to highlighting issues of Patkars supporters. both road under construction in hilly regions requires cutting which looks abrasive and bare initially. Reference photographs included in the report only coming into court such roads in the early stagesof construction and which were only close to 5 km in length. It has conveniently kept out the photographs of over 100 km of roads that have been completed with enhanced thousand cover.ConclusionWith all the above observations carried out by the government constituted committee, post-facto green signal to Phase-I of Lavasa by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) given on the November 9th , 2011 was widely condemned by many intellectual groups and was declared as ablot on the democratic process. It also created a shockingly spartan precedent in the bill of environmental action in India. MoEFs incorrect action has in fact sent shock-waves to eco-activists within the country and also acros s the world. Although it is not the first time in the long history of Indian Environmental clearance regime that political highhandedness has been used to step down rule of law and the ends of justice, this case is unique since theclearance has disregarded comfortably established evidence based on facts collected by no other than the MoEF itself. It is surprising that the Ministrys decision has come in the wake of the case filed by the Maharashtra government against 15 persons including promoters of Lavasa Corporation for alleged violations of the Environment Protection Act (EPA), while the Maharashtra Chief Minister on the other hand has recommended that Lavasa be considered for environmental clearance, exposed thedouble standards of the state government.