Kerala High Court directs partial demolition of constructions effected by DLF at Chilavanoor in violation of CRZ norms

The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the Kochi Corporation to stop all further construction by the real estate company DLF at Chilavanoor in Kochi and demolish portion of buildings it had constructed in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.

 

The apartment complex constructed by DLF at Chilavanoor in Kochi

Justice A.V. Ramakrishna Pillai, while allowing a writ petition filed by A.V. Antony of Kochi challenging the construction, observed that the material now placed on record would abundantly tend to indicate that the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) had not granted CRZ clearance to DLF for constructing buildings on the property.

Earlier, the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) had accused the Kochi Corporation of allegedly helping DLF to complete the construction of its apartment complex on the Chilavannoor backwaters by refusing to act on the authority’s directive not to grant building permits for constructions in CRZ areas.

In an affidavit filed by K K Ramachandran, member secretary of the authority, had stated that as per the CRZ notification, all constructions with an investment of Rs five crore or more required prior CRZ clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The construction by DLF was allowed without following the provisions of the notification.

The KCZMA submitted before the Court that it had issued instructions to the corporation and the Ernakulam District Collector to initiate action against DLF under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. As per the report that was prepared by the Centre for Earth Sciences Studies (CESS), the property of DLF fell within CRZ I (ii) and CRZ II categories.

The KCZMA had directed the corporation to stop all illegal constructions in the CRZ areas. However, the corporation had failed to comply with the provisions of the Environmental (Protection) Act, it was submitted.

The construction had been undertaken after reclaiming ‘wetland pokkali field’ which had been classified as CRZ I (ii) areas as it was an ecologically fragile area.

The Court said in its judgment that building permits were issued in violation of the law of the land by issuing permits in CRZ area. Any construction made in violation of CRZ norms could not be regularised, the Court said.