Lack of transparency in selection of Lavasa project: CAG

Observing that the project nods were given without environmental and cabinet approvals, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), on Tuesday, slammed the state government for “total lack of transparency” in the selection of the Lavasa hill station project in Pune district.

Claiming that the Lavasa project was driven by private interests rather than the public one, the CAG report said that expression of interests were not invited by the government for the development of Lavasa, thus made the process non-transparent.

“In 1999, the government declared tourism as an industry and in July 1999, included development of hill station as tourism activity. Further, the urban development department amended its own notification in 2001, and removed the upper cap of 2,000 hectare area of development. The cabinet approval for the same was not taken for the same,” the report said.

The report also stated that the government had planned to develop all the six hill stations in Pune and not considered the other hilly areas in the state, thus proving that the development was in the interest of the developer.

Slamming the government for the irregularity in issuing environment clearance to the project, the report said: “The government avoided clearance from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on the grounds that the development would not be beyond 1,000 meters. But looking at the huge ramification in terms of eco-sensitive area on which it was being developed, a MoEF sanction was a must.”

“More recently, the environment department has failed to constitute a high-level verification and monitoring committee despite the MoEF directives issued in November 2011. This led to the violations by the Lavasa Corporation Limited. “

The report has also questioned the decision of giving special planning authority status to Lavasa, which was taken in a meeting held at the site between Union agriculture minister [Sharad Pawar], then chief minister [Vilasrao Deshmukh] and irrigation minister and secretaries. “Lavasa Corporation Limited is a private company registered under the Companies Act, and whether the company can be given the status of special planning authority is a questionable fact.”

The project was given concessions of nearly Rs13 crore in stamp and registration duty and nazarana fees. The report stated that Lavasa had purchased the 22.47 hectare land at Mugaon village from four tribals, when acquisition of tribal land was not permissible legally.