No norms violated: CM Chavan

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday insisted that no rules had been flouted while approving the Rs. 2,000-crore hill city project in Mulshi taluka of Pune district.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday insisted that no rules had been flouted while approving the Rs. 2,000-crore hill city project in Mulshi taluka of Pune district. “The clearance was given after all rules and regulations of our [state’s] hill station policy were found to have been complied with,” he told the media.

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“We have ensured that the mistakes that were made while allotting clearances to earlier [hill city] projects are not repeated,” said Chavan, who heads the state urban development department, which gave the green light to the project.

The proposed hill city is spread across seven villages in Mulshi, not far from the Lavasa hill city, which had courted controversy over environmental issues.

The CM admitted that there were certain violations in the Lavasa project as environmental clearances had not been taken, but claimed that the state has taken due precautions to ensure that the new project adheres to the norms.

The hill station, being developed by Maharashtra Valley View Pvt Ltd, falls within a 10-km radius of a major portion of the Pawna and Mulshi dams, and the entire Saltar dam. It is also within a 10-km radius of three reserve forests — Salte, Barpe and Budhru.