Not the finest address anymore

Equally worried, ironically, are the saffron rulers in Maharashtra. The Manohar Joshi Government fielded Congress’ allegations of a major scam in the State Assembly early this month with admirable courage. Yet, when a veiled threat came from anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, the Government hastily asked Sahara to stop the work.

It has even gone to the extent of declaring that the letter of intent given earlier to the Uttar Pradesh-based corporate giant will be reviewed. Hazare who is up against corruption in the higher echelons of the Government had cryptically referred to `a controversial land deal in Lonavla region involving a ruling Sena-BJP alliance heavyweight.” The reference to Joshi was more than obvious.

“There is nothing wrong with these projects, which were cleared after a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the environment department,” Joshi had told the State Assembly referring an allegation that the Sahara project had been receiving “favours from the Government”. Failure to get clearances, at all.

But Joshi, his belief in transparent governance notwithstanding, allegedly never bothered with getting clearances on the Sahara project the most conspicuous post-Enron deal in Maharashtra which will change the face of 5,000 acre of land in the ecologically sensitive Lonavla region.

Four years ago, the project was an innocuous plan aimed at exploiting the tourism potential of the high-altitude Sahyadri ranges in Ambavane village under Pune’s Mulshi taluka, 26 km south of Lonavla, at the foot of the historic Koraigad fort, overlooking Tata’s famous Mulshi hydel lake on one hand and the Konkan on the other.

Today it has snowballed into a major controversy, which environmentalists allege and officials concede, has violated many provisions. There are also apprehensions on Sahara triggering off ecologically disastrous `development’ in the hitherto untouched parts of the Western Ghats.

What Sahara advertises as `India’s finest first home address’, the Amby Valley Lake City, began taking shape in March 1995. The Rs 4,000-crore Sahara group owns not even a square inch of land in the region, says a report from the Pune District Collectorate to the State Revenue Department. Yet, the company has developed a sprawling 650-acre area in the vicinity of Ambavane village and has also meddled with the historic Korigad which has neither the national flag nor the traditional `zaripatka’ of the Marathas, but the Sahara flag flying atop.

Says Urban Development (UD) Department Principal Secretary K. Nalinakshan: “Whatever Sahara has constructed near Ambavane village is illegal. The letter of intent is not in any way a final approval. Sahara India had been asked to get NOCs from various government departments and agencies but this was not complied with.”

Conservator of Forests (Pune) Madhav Gogate says: “Sahara keeps telling us about a recommendation from the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment. Yet no concrete proposal has come up from Sahara so far and we will not allow them to step on the forest land till they have the permissions.”

Immediately after the Sena-BJP took over the reigns in Mumbai, irrigation as well as revenue officials were first `requested’ by the Tourism Department to give certain NOCs to Sahara on a priority basis. Despite that several permissions under the Agriculture Land Ceiling Act, Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Land Act and the Forest Conservation Act have not been granted by the respective departments.

“The project violates basic norms laid down by many statutes,” a senior revenue official said on condition of anonymity.

Work begins, without permission

SAHARA did not wait for the permissions and went ahead with terracing of land and other `development’ activities on the contiguous stretches of land which was purchased by 66 individuals, all residents of Lucknow. Prima facie, the plot-owners sought permission for construction of their individual farm houses on their plots. This was even before Sahara sought a letter of intent from the Maharashtra Government for their project on the same land.

The Additional District Collector of Pune first refused permissions to farm houses and later instituted an inquiry into all the post-1990 land deals in the Mulshi block. At least 17 Sahara-related land deals would attract actions under the Agriculture Land Ceiling Act and Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Land Act.

Though Sahara’s advertisements speak of developing 5,000 acre of land with 4,000 acre already being in possession, revenue records at the tehsil office at Paud in Pune district contradict the claims. Only about 2,593 acre of land changed hands in 307 deals since 1991 in seven Mulshi villages in which `outsiders’, mostly individuals from Lucknow, were involved.

The Revenue Department has now cancelled two of the land transactions for breach of Maharashtra Land Revenue Rules.

The TEC has expressed concern over the project in unambiguous terms. To add fuel to the fire, environmentalists are now up in arms against the project.

“It is not just because Sahara is a threat to the fragile Western Ghat ecology in Lonavla region that we are opposed to it. The project has an adverse social fallout as well,” says environmentalist Vijay Paranjpye. The sudden influx of population in the otherwise virgin land will contaminate the water flowing into the valleys and the reservoirs. Tatas join chorus of disapproval.

A series of ponds developed by Sahara India in the vicinity of Ambavene have drawn objections from TEC which contends that by impounding that much of water in the catchment of its hydel reservoir, the project has deprived the State of 21,818 Mw hours of power generation. TEC has protested to the State Government for being kept in the dark when so many tanks impounding a heavy quantum of water were coming up in the catchment.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior TEC official stated that Sahara lakes would rob Mulshi of around 4 per cent of water. This 4 per cent would, however, cost TEC much in terms of power generation.

At the Sahara project, a high-tech water recreation acqua club and an `exotic’ water park of international standards is on the cards. Sahara plans to have a string of 10 water bodies storing 705 million cubic feet (MCFT) of water. Some have been commissioned already, catering amidst heavy security to massive construction activity.

High profile environmentalist Rashmi Mayur corroborates the fear expressed by TEC officials. Sahara, he says, is an example of what damage such projects will cause to the ecology. It is not only Sahara that environmentalists have to oppose, he adds.

The Maharashtra Government recently amended the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act to encourage many such private hill resorts all over the State.

Obviously, all these will be coming up in the rugged Sahyadris and amidst green patches left undisturbed so far.