Kochi Corporation lands in dock for constructing park on reclaimed land
KOCHI: Tense situation prevailed on Sunday at Chilavannoor when protestors partially demolished a part of the construction alleged to have been made on the reclaimed land. Based on the allegations, V M Mohammed Sabir, special tahsildar, revenue recovery in Kanayannur taluk, stopped the construction works and promised a meeting to be chaired by the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) on June 4.
“Kanayannoor tahsildar and Poonithura village officer have promised that a meeting will be convened on Tuesday. All stakeholders including Corporation, police and others, will be part of the meeting which will decide the legality of the construction. The construction in the area has been stopped till further notice,” said activist Nipun Cherian.
The park project under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is being executed by Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) after it won the contract rights from the Corporation to construct it. The construction continued despite Poonithura village officer issuing a stop memo on March 23, 2019.
“The construction is being done at the ‘ecologically sensitive area,’ of 80 cents. Since Kochi Corporation hasn’t procured prior permission from Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority despite the land coming under Coastal Regulation Zone I, we requested officials concerned to clear the illegal construction at the said land before June 2. But no action was initiated,” said environmentalist C R Neelakandan.
Despite repeated attempts, Kochi Corporation officials were unavailable for comments.