PURI: The Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has directed the Odisha Coastal Zone Management Authority (OCZMA) to stop the ongoing unauthorised constructions in Puri’s coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) area.
In a letter, the Union ministry has asked the OCZMA to address these violations and ensure enforcement and monitoring of CRZ regulations.
The president of Beach Protection Council of Odisha, Jagannath Bastia, had on January 29 filed a complaint with the ministry stating that around 35 unauthorised multi-storey hotels and commercial buildings were being constructed in the CRZ area of the Puri beach, in violation of the CRZ norms.
Bastia had alleged that though the state authorities concerned were informed about it, they did precious little to stop these illegal constructions and initiate legal proceedings against the violators.
He alleged the empowered regulatory bodies, Puri Konark Development Authority (PKDA) and Puri municipality, have been silent on the issue. This silence has encouraged violators to go for construction in the prohibited areas of the coastline, he said.
“These promoters did not obtain mandatory permission from the CRZ body and do not have approved building plans. For any construction within the CRZ limits, it is mandatory to obtain permission from the CRZ body. These illegal constructions in the area have caused irreparable damage to the ecology of this pristine beach,” Bastia had stated in his complaint.
P Raghban, senior scientist (CRZ) of the MoEFCC, said the ministry had delegated powers to the state coastal zone management authority to take necessary legal actions against the violators.
The Odisha coastal zone management authority has been asked to take action against the violators and stop illegal constructions, besides send an action taken report (ATR) to the Union ministry in this connection.