VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has issued strict directives to Penak Neha Reddy and her company, Avyan Realtors LLP, ordering them to deposit Rs 48.21 lakh with the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) within a week to cover the cost of demolishing an illegal concrete wall constructed in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms in Bheemunipatnam, Visakhapatnam district.
The court also instructed the company to respond to a Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) committee report recommending Rs 17.46 crore in environmental compensation for damage caused by the unauthorised structure.
The next hearing is scheduled for October 16.
These orders were issued on Thursday by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice R Raghunandan Rao.
In a related development, the court directed resto-bar owners in the Bheemunipatnam area, accused of breaching CRZ norms, to respond to a report submitted by a committee comprising the AP Coastal Zone Management Authority (APCZMA) member-secretary, GVMC Commissioner, and Visakhapatnam District Collector.
The case arises from a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Jana Sena Party corporator PLBN Murthy Yadav, alleging that Neha Reddy, daughter of former YSRCP MP V Vijayasai Reddy, and her company, Avyan Realtors LLP, constructed permanent concrete structures dangerously close to the shoreline in the CRZ-I zone of Bheemunipatnam, near Visakhapatnam, with authorities failing to intervene.
