KOCHI: The Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court on Friday ordered the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register a case against singer M G Sreekumar and nine others in connection with the construction of a house violating Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms at Bolgatty in Kochi. The court ordered the VACB probe following a complaint filed by Kalamassery native Gireesh Babu.
The court directive came after the Ernakulam VACB unit carried out a quick verification and filed a report recommending the registration of the case for conducting a detailed probe. The VACB will register an FIR against former Mulavukkad panchayat officials K Padmini, P M Sherif, Jessy Cherian, K V Manoj, S Krishnakumari, P S Rajan, Saleema, R Manikutty, assistant engineer K P Saina Bevi and M G Sreekumar.
It was in 2010 that Sreekumar bought 11.5 cents of land with an old house near the Bolgatty boat jetty. Later, he demolished the building and constructed a 1376-sq ft two-storey house in 2013. On completion of the construction, the panchayat authorities issued the building number. However, after Sreekumar filed an application for constructing the house, the overseer of the panchayat had in a report stated that the land comes under the CRZ area. The complainant alleged that it was due to the influence of Sreekumar that panchayat officials permitted the construction.
“Despite knowing that the area is located in a CRZ-sensitive location, Mulavukkad panchayat officials permitted Sreekumar to construct the house. The same officials denied permission to fishermen, who live in the area, for any construction activities. The matter was brought to our notice by fishermen in the area, for whom we approached the court,” Gireesh said.Initially, the VACB maintained that there is no scope for a vigilance probe and that the matter should be probed by the ombudsman of local self-governing bodies instead. However, the court ordered the VACB to conduct a preliminary inquiry and sought a report.