Demolish DLF apartment complex, Kerala High Court tells govt

The Kerala High Court today directed the government to take immediate steps to pull down the parts of the DLF's apartment complex, near Chilavannoor backwaters in Kochi, that was allegedly built in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone [CRZ] Act.o

The court also ordered to immediately stop any further construction of the apartment complex, which has several huge towers.

A three-member committee of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA), who were appointed to inquire into the alleged Coastal Regulation Zone violation, had submitted its report to the Authority on July 22.

According to the report, the area where the project came up was marked as Pokkali fields in the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan of the region in 1996. Pokkali fields are natural paddy fields which has abundantly rich bio-diversity in it. The report also pointed out that the construction of some parts of the structure was violating the CRZ Act. Some parts were even constructed encroaching the shores of the Chilavannoor backwaters. The committee found out that in some parts the encroachment was several meters into the back waters. The committee in its report said that the authenticity of several documents, including the ownership of land, submitted by DLF, were doubtful. Also there is no clarity in the replies given by the company. The committee had surveyed the area before submitting the report and found out encroachment of the back waters.

The court also said that the various clearances given by the Kochi Corporation were not in accordance with the laws pertaining to construction of buildings in the city limits.

The single bench headed by Justice A.V. Ramakrishna Pillai, however, did not set any time limit to act upon the order. Although the court ordered to demolish the portions of the complex where violation is proved, in effect the entire complex should be pulled down, said experts. Major chunk of the construction was in the encroached area. In some parts encroachment is even 100 meters. So the structure will not have existance, while demolishing some parts.

The company had approached various authorities for clearances in 2007. However, during three months period from September, 2007 it had got all the clearances including sanctioning of plan and building permit from the Corporation, No Objection Certficates [NOCs] from the Pollution Control Board and Fire and Rescue Services Department and even the clearance from Indian Navy about the height of various towers of the complex. The company had secured these important sanctions within a few days. As per the Google map of 2007, several parts of the apartment complex come under the area of Chilavannoor back waters. The court also criticised the acts of Kochi Corporation to grant licenses hastily without scrutnising the documents thoroughly and surveying the area.