KASARAGOD: "I will not tell anyone about this place," a Polish tourist told G S Gul Mohammed, who runs Oyster Opera resort at Thekkekadu, an island in the Valiyaparamba backwaters of Kasaragod.
It took a while for Mohammed to realise it was not harsh feedback on the place. "She did not want this beautiful place to be discovered and overcrowded on her next visit," he said.
The Polish tourist can rest easy. The "lopsided" rules of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) will ensure Valiyaparamba panchayat will remain under-developed and out of bounds, said tourism investors.
Valiyaparamba gram panchayat is a 24-km-long narrow land mass between Kavvayi Backwaters and the Arabian Sea. Its width ranges from 35m to 900m, with an average width of around 400m. But CRZ rules do not allow Valiyaparamba the benefits of an island because the end of the 24-km-long stretch dovetails into Ezhimala in Kannur district.
For an island, no development zone extends only up to 50m from the waterbody as per the 2011 notification. It will be further reduced to 20m under the 2019 notification.
But Valiyaparamba is considered as a sandbar or spit and classified under the CRZ-III B category where the no development zone extends up to 200m from the sea and 100m from the backwaters.
"We are victims of these lopsided rules," said John Thomas, a Bangalorean who invested Rs 2.5 crore to build a homestay on this virgin island in 2017.
His property, V-Retreat, has a beach in the backyard and a river in the front yard. Both are 60m apart.
"I'm 63 years old and I have never seen such a place in my entire life. That's why I decided to make Valiyaparamba my retirement home," said Thomas, a native of Kozhencherry in Pathanamthitta district.
He bought an old dilapidated house on a 75-cent plot and developed it into a seven-room homestay. But two years later in 2019, the panchayat served a demolition notice on him. "I should have put the money in Coorg or Chikmagalur," said a disheartened Thomas.
Ajeesh Kumar, who runs Avisa Homestay, has a similar experience. "I have thought of leaving the place several times," he said.
This 40-cent property has eight rooms. "But there is no scope for development. The CRZ rules have tied us down," he said.
For the past four years, Poovar Island Resort has been trying to start an Ayurveda spa and hospital with 18 cottages in Valiyaparamba. The Rs 9.5 crore project aims to give jobs to 200 persons.
It bought 11 acres. "The Coastal Zone Management Authority has now agreed to give us permission to develop 1.8 acres. We will start work the day we get permission," said M R Narayanan, MD of Poovar Island.
The lack of development has kept the panchayat below the poverty line, said panchayat president V V Sajeevan. "Our annual income is just Rs 10 lakh," he said.
The panchayat has around 25 homestays but they give only Rs 100 to Rs 150 as annual tax even as their daily tariff is Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per day, he said.
Homestay owners such as John Thomas said the panchayat should come up with innovative ideas to tax them. "We are generating jobs for the residents. We are ready to pay higher tax," he said.
Sajeevan is betting on the state government's tourism project STREET to boost the income of the residents. "Valiyaparamba is among the 10 places selected by the state government to implement the project," he said.
The theme-based streets will help visitors experience the specialty of each location. "Our streets and walls will be decked up with art and graffiti. Tourists can mingle with the local fisher community, enjoy the street food and experience their culture. It will boost the income of the residents, too," he said.
The island has the potential to attract tourists from around the world, India, and Kerala, but tourists will need a place to stay, said Gul Mohammed. "I bring my tourists from Thekkekadu island to Valiyaparamba because that's where the beaches are. But they are disappointed with the lack of even basic facilities such as toilets and a place to take a shower," he said.