The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is likely to come up with a final draft of its reply to the Bombay high court over the Lavasa issue by Wednesday.

Speaking at the sidelines of a conference here, a senior ministry official said that the matter was under consideration. "We have two days to file a reply clarifying our stand over the project to the court. The reply will explain why the ministry had asked for work to be stopped at the site," he added.

The Bombay HC had earlier overturned a MoEF stop-work notice to the project saying that the company's stand needed to be heard before any action was to be taken.

The ministry had also issued a show-cause notice to the company over the alleged violation of environmental laws by the project. However, Lavasa asked for an extension of two weeks on December 9, having failed to meet the ministry deadline.

On the Adarsh issue, the offcial said that the housing societiy's authorities have also asked for an extension of the deadline for the reply to the notice issued to them. "They have asked for a month more to file their replies," he said.