KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to maintain status quo with respect to the government order granting sanction to reclaim the wetland of Methran Kayal in Kumarakom for proposed eco-tourism purposes.
The court issued the interim order on the petition filed by N K Alexander Vadacode, of Kochi, seeking to quash the government order accepting the proposal of the private party to implement the proposed eco tourism project. The court also issued notice to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the state government and the Kottayam District Collector. Special Government Pleader P K Soyuz submitted that the government had granted only an in-principle approval and the sanction would be granted subject to the Kerala Conservation of Paddy and Wetland Act.
Methran Kayal can be utilised only for paddy and other cultivation. Reclamation of the Methran Kayal is strictly restricted by the Kerala Conservation of Paddy and Wetland Act, 2008 as it is a paddy and wetland. The government passed the order without applying mind and in violation of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy and Wetland Act.
The Rak Indo Developers (P) Ltd started purchasing the land from the farmers for the project in locality from 2007 onwards and subsequent to their purchase the paddy cultivation had ceased. The project proposed by the revenue department will affect the ecology of the entire area. The purported eco-friendly project is only an eye-wash to get over the statutory restrictions. No manner of cultivation other than paddy is permissible in a paddy land.
The petitioner contended that the government had issued the order with a mala fide intention and without complying with the procedure contemplated under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy and Westland Act, 2009 and the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010. The petitioner and other farmers had been cultivating their paddy land at the Methran kayal till 2008 when the project was proposed. Since then, the land had been lying fallow and waterlogged.