HCC seeks withdrawal of petition against MoEF order
30 Mar 2011
Hindustan Construction Co is in the process of withdrawing its petition from the Bombay High Court against an order issued by India's environment ministry that had directed it to stop work at the hill town project. The withdrawal would pave the way for an out-of-court settlement to the dispute.
Lavasa Corp counsel, Mukul Rohatgi told Dow Jones Newswires that the company was submitting to the MoEF's jurisdiction without prejudice.
A settlement that does not hurt the financial viability of the project would come as a shot in the arm for Hindustan Construction, which has significant investment plans for Lavasa, besides a plan to list the unit on the bourses.
According to Rohatgi, since the stop-work order, the project, one of India's biggest residential projects, has lost around Rs50 million a day.
The company's shares were up at a high of Rs37.90 on news of the likely out-of-court settlement.
The court would decide later whether to allow withdrawal of Lavasa's petition.
