KOCHI: On a visit to locations in Maradu where four flat complexes were demolished in 2020, the Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae on Monday asked the municipality to hand over a report with details of authorised buildings existing on the sites.
The amicus curiae, Gaurav Agarwal, and his team visited the locations on the directive of the apex court to analyse the viability of reconstruction of apartment complexes at the same sites, following the request of flat owners.
Four high-rise buildings -- Holy Faith H2O, Alfa Serene, Jain Coral Cove and Golden Kayaloram -- were demolished on the order of the Supreme Court in January 2020, on finding that the apartments violated coastal regulation zone (CRZ-2) rules, which prohibit any construction within 200m of the high-tide line of waterbodies.
Later, it was brought to the notice of the SC that the sites that comprised the complexes fell under CRZ-3 norms and not CRZ-2, therefore reducing the restrictions from 200m to 50m.
This allows high-rise buildings such as those that were demolished to be constructed in the area. “The purpose of today’s (Monday) visit was to analyse the viability of construction of new apartment buildings in the sites they were demolished earlier. We have sought details on authorised buildings existing on the plots from Maradu municipality. Only after receiving this data can we analyse the distance from the waterbodies and size of buildings that can be built. After we receive the details, Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) officials will again visit the sites before submitting the report to the apex court,” said P Kalaiarasan, environmental engineer with the directorate of environment and climate change of KCZMA.
The team also comprised KCZMA officials, district collector N S K Umesh, the chief town planner, the district town planner, the government pleader, the deputy collector and municipality officials. Around 343 owners lost their flats in the demolitions. In September, a three-judge SC bench asked the state government to consider “some relief” for flat owners, and orally remarked that the entire dispute could have been settled by imposing heavy fines.
Maradu municipality chairman Antony Ashanparambil said the civic body supports the construction of new apartment complexes. “The three-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court comprising the then principal secretary, district collector and municipality chairperson presented a misleading report in 2019, leading to the demolitions. It was a wrong move on the part of the state government. Police should have also taken action against the then panchayat president, who was responsible for false documentation that led to the demolitions,” he told TNIE.