KOCHI: Chilavanoor, the lakefront land in the city, is now known for its high-profile residents. Apartments big and small are visible from across the lake, filled with ‘African payal’ - the invasive aquatic plant. Some aged Chinese nets fixed on rickety platforms stand here and there on the banks of Chilavanoor lake, indicating the presence of centuries-old fishing tradition in this locality.
M A Yusuf Ali, the 25th richest Indian with a net worth of $4.2billion, owns a house at Chilavanoor. A narrow ‘Y Lane’ deep inside the place takes you to the ‘Y Mansion’; its huge gates and compound wall cover the view inside. “He comes in and goes in his helicopter. That’s when we know that he’s in town,” says a shopkeeper about the Abu Dhabi-based NRI’s visit.
Another well-known resident is Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of former Chief Minister late K Karunakaran. Her house propelling into the backwaters, giving its residents a nice view of the lake. Chilavanoor is also the place where some of the big property developers are building apartment complexes for the high-end customers. The place hit the headlines last year when Delhi-based builder DLF was asked to demolish its high-end apartment complex. The imposing DLF luxury apartment is built on the banks of Chilavannor Lake. The High Court said the apartment, which is fully finished and allotments made, violated Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) norms. The builder got a reprieve when in June the Union Ministry of Environment gave a clean-chit to the builder, saying no violations have taken place.
While DLF was fire-fighting all the time, there were allegations that most of the other builders have also flouted norms to build their apartments at Chilavanoor. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its report in 2014, tabled in the Kerala Assembly, said 19 buildings which allegedly flouted the CRZ norms in Chilavanoor include - five by Adelie Builders and Developers, four by Galaxy Developers, three by Jewel Homes, two by Ambady Retreats, and one each by Heera Constructions, Pearls Garden, Rain Tree Realms, Abad Lotus and Blue Lagoon. It was found that these buildings with some having up to 21 floors, violated norms by constructing the structures at between 7.2 metres and 60 metres away from backwaters. (In the case of backwaters, the distance limit is 100 metres on either side or the width of the river/backwaters, whichever is less), the CAG had said.
Other than this some of builders were also found to have encroached upon the lake area. A CAG report found that the Kochi Corporation and the Maradu Municipality issued building permits without referring the cases to the Coastal Zone Management Authority or obtaining environment clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Now, in a single-sweep, the Central Government is likely to relax the guidelines, regularising the multi-storeyed structures, much to the relief of the builders and the apartment owners. The move comes after the Centre released a report by Shailesh Nayak-chaired six-member committee which recommended several changes in the CRZ notification of 2011. After the report was released, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change asked the state government to consider relaxing the CRZ notification for Kerala. The state government, according to informed sources, wasted no time and announced that it will prepare an integrated Coastal Management Plan to be submitted to the Centre. Through the plan, the state is expected to get relaxation in the CRZ notification allowing constructions along a distance of 50 m from the shore instead of the stipulated 500 m.
“The implementation of the recommendation of Shailesh Nayak committee will nullify the Coastal Regulation Zone notification. An entire new set of rules will replace it. This will help in regularising all the existing violations. Further it calls for giving more powers to local bodies in taking decisions related to issuing clearances in coastal areas. This will curb the role of Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA) to a mere monitoring agency,” said an official on condition of anonymity, adding that intense lobbying is going on to relax the CRZ norms.
The state government’s move to earn relaxations to Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms will create widespread implications with it set to regularise violations including that of big builders in the city, cautions environmentalists.
Though the builders and the government are currently engaged in legal battles over the CRZ violations on Chilavanoor lake, the latest move is likely to end in regularising these blatant violations, they say.
When contacted Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) Member Secretary Sudheer Babu S declined to comment on the issue.