The Hindu: Kochi: Thursday, March 14, 2013.
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| Sky-rises dotting the shoreline of the Chilavannur lake in the city. - Photo: K.K. Mustafah |
The Kochi
Corporation issued building permits for 10 high-rises on the banks of the
Chilavannur lake between 2003 and 2008 without seeking the coastal regulation
zone (CRZ) clearance from the Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority
(KSCZMA). The Corporation admitted to this violation in a response to a Right
to Information (RTI) application filed by The Hindu.
The
Chilavannur backwater is part of the Vembanad lake, which is listed as a Ramsar
site. Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for conservation and
sustainable utilisation of wetlands.
Interestingly,
the local body issued stop memos to the builders only after an expert
committee, constituted by the authority in November, 2010, asked the
Corporation authorities to freeze reclamation of filtration ponds and tidal
marshes in the region for real estate development.
Work on all
these high-rises was almost over when the Corporation issued the stop memos.
The
information was received in a written reply dated March 11, 2013, from the
Assistant Executive Engineer, Town Planning section of the Corporation at
Vyttila.
The green
signal for constructing the high-rises was given by the local body when it had
in its possession the coastal zone management plan for the entire State
specifying the areas coming under the coastal regulation zone.
The
Department of Local Self Government had also issued stringent directives that
the local bodies concerned should ensure that the CRZ norms are not violated
while issuing building permits especially in ecologically-sensitive regions.
The
Corporation ignored the government orders in this regard and gave building
permits without ascertaining whether the builder had received the CRZ
clearance.
The
Corporation issued building permit to even high-rises located within 20 metres
of the high-tide line (HTL). As per the CRZ notification, 1991, 100 metres from
the HTL or the width of the water body, whichever is less, will be a
no-development zone (NDZ) in backwater islands.
Even though
the NDZ was reduced to 50 metres in the CRZ notification, 2011, it was clearly
mentioned that no new construction will be permitted in the region. Only
fishermen were allowed to set up their dwelling units beyond 50 metres from the
HTL on the landward side of the backwater islands with the prior permission of
the concerned village panchayat.
In its reply
to the RTI petition, the corporation admitted that it was yet to submit the
details of building permits issued for buildings on the banks of Chilavannur
Lake from 1996 to 2005 to the KSCZMA.
An expert
team of the authority had submitted a report that large-scale reclamation of
filtration ponds and tidal marshes had taken place on both the banks almost all
along the entire stretch of the backwater.
A question on
the total number of building permits issued by the corporation on either sides
of the Chilavannur Lake generated a vague response that it could be given only
after examining the permit files issued between 1996 and 2005.
“The details
could be given, if you could furnish the permit file number of buildings
constructed in the area. The building permit register during this period is
available in this office,” it said.
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