ALAPPUZHA: Transport Minister Thomas Chandy, who is under immense pressure following alleged encroachment and violation of rules in the construction of his Lake Palace Resort, found himself further on the back foot after Revenue Department came up with documents and images to support its argument. The documents proved Chandy violated the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, to construct the resort’s facilities.
The last 10 years’ satellite images, examined by the department, showed a road to the resort starting from Valiyakulam on the Alappuzha-Chungam road was constructed after filling paddy field, violating rules. In front of the resort gate, a lengthy parking bay was also constructed.
As per the Paddy Land Act, only farm roads with a width of three-four metres are permitted for moving machineries, including tractors. But in the 982-metre road, the width of the stretch up to the resort’s gate is above seven metres.
Further, the road connecting Valiyakulam and Zero Jetty was constructed using the fund of MPs P J Kurian and K E Ismail and its width gets reduced to four metres past the resort’s gate.
The road, until the gate of the resort, was tarred in August first week with the fund “allocated” from the Harbour Engineering Department. The satellite pictures also prove the filling of paddy land in the Marthandam Kayal. The Revenue Department is planning to launch an investigation into the issues.
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