KOCHI: Close on the heels of Supreme Court judge Justice Arun Mishra’s statement that there are “illegal constructions in prohibited places” in Kerala, environmental experts have said over 200 cases of violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules are pending before the Kerala High Court and Supreme Court. In many of these cases, orders have been passed to raze the structures, they said. Justice Arun Mishra made the statement on Monday while hearing the Maradu demolition case.
Prakash Vadakkan, a former member of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA), said in several cases, the implementation of the High Court order to demolish the buildings constructed in violation of CRZ rules is pending as the builders have obtained stay orders from the apex court.
“As of today, around 200 cases concerning violation of CRZ rules are pending before the High Court and the Supreme Court. In fact, a CRZ case against Pearl Harbour, an apartment complex at Thoppumpady, is pending before Justice Arun Mishra,” said Vadakkan.
Advocate Ebenezer Chullikkatt, a social activist, said: “A survey will reveal that there are more than 1,000 CRZ rule violations in various places in Ernakulam district itself. However, once the new notification comes into place, all these structures will get regularised. If we consider the situation in Kerala, nearly 40 per cent of the population will be affected if the CRZ rules are implemented in their totality.” Vadakkan said in the case of Maradu municipality, a majority of constructions have been done along the coast by axing the mangrove forests. “This a big violation of the CRZ rules,” he said.
According to him, the violations are being considered as per the 1991 CRZ notification. “However, many of these violations will come within the CRZ rules once the 2019 notification comes into force. But it will take time since the new KCZMA committee is yet to be formed,” he said. The 2019 CRZ notification was published in June, when the tenure of the KCZMA committee ended. Hence, we couldn’t issue notifications regarding the steps needed to be taken for the regularisation of constructions as per the 2019 notification,” said Vadakkan.
“Some of the major constructions in the state done in violation of CRZ norms are Malabar Gold tower in Kannur, Marina Towers at Thoppumpady in Ernakulam and Kapico resorts in Panavally grama panchayat in Alappuzha,” said Vadakkan.He said the High Court had in July 2013 ordered demolition of two resorts -- Vamika Island owned by Green Lagoon company, and Kapico by Kapico Kerala Resorts on a private island at Nediyathuruthu.
“The order was upheld by the Supreme Court in October the same year,” he said. But demolishing the Kapico resorts will lead to serious ecological issues and might even affect the very existence of the island,” he said. “Only Vamika was demolished,” he said.Explaining the directive given by the SC to the chief secretary in the Maradu case, advocate Mathew Kurian, a resident of Alfa Ventures who was present in the court, said: “I feel the court is now focusing on the larger aspect and not limiting the issue to five buildings in Maradu.”
“The court blamed the government authorities for being a failure in approving the constructions in ecologically-sensitive areas,” he said. Officials of Malabar Gold Tower, Marina Towers and Kapico resorts could not be reached despite repeated attempts.