Lavasa hasnt caused harm to forests: Panel

Prima facie,forest destruction does not seem to have happened in case of Lavasa.

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After three days of on-the-spot assessment,the 11-member team of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) Friday declared that Lavasa had caused no harm to forests.

Prima facie,forest destruction does not seem to have happened in case of Lavasa, Naresh Dayal,chairman of the team,told a press conference before leaving for Delhi.

He also said that no reduction in water supply to Pune city was found to have occurred as a result of the project.

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The team scrutinised various aspects of Lavasa including its master plan,environmental parameters,sewage treatment plan and stone crusher unit.

We checked these parameters from the environmental point of view. Based on the inputs given by Lavasa Corporation and various departments of the state,we would be preparing a detailed report which would be submitted to the MoEF by January 10, Dayal said.

Earlier,Ajit Gulabchand,Chairman,Lavasa Corporation,said the corporation was losing Rs 2 crore a day since November 25,when work was halted.

Asked when the work was likely to resume,Dayal said,That is beyond the mandate of this committee.