Choice Marina, the twin tower residential apartment complex that has come up at Palluruthy, has been denied Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance.
The 89th meeting of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA), which met on October 10, decided not to give CRZ clearance for the project.
The clearance was denied for the building as it violated the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) proposed for the area. Moreover, CRZ guidelines were also violated when the existing building was reconstructed, said a member of the Authority.
Armed with an order of the Kerala High Court for considering its application afresh, Choice Marina Constructions had approached the member secretary of the KCZMA for CRZ clearance.
Later, a sub-committee of the Authority, which had N.R. Menon, a member of the KCZMA, and Kamalakshan Kokkal, Senior Principal Scientist, Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment, as its members, concluded that the building was constructed in violation of the FAR stipulation during its reconstruction.
On inspection, it was found that the multi-storey building was located in the CRZ II category.
The building was found located on the landward side of nine cents of land which had been reclaimed by the Cochin Port Trust from Kochi backwaters and leased out to Choice Marina Constructions, it was reported. The “building was made as residential flat with 11 stories. Construction was made without obtaining CRZ clearance as per CRZ Notification,” said the agenda note that was distributed at the meeting.
The building, which was completed some time ago, is awaiting power connection from the Kerala State Electricity Board and occupancy certificate from the Kochi Corporation. With its subcommittee pointing out the violations and the KCZMA meeting subsequently denying the housing project CRZ clearance, the Authority will now issue notice to the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) for the demolition of the building.
Such notices are to be issued automatically. Eco-restoration, returning the holding to the condition before the construction, could also be ordered, said a member of the Authority.
The task of implementing the directives of the Authority lies with the LSGD and Revenue departments. The decision of the KCZMA would be notified to the authorities in due course, he said.
‘Issue settled’
On the finding of the KCZMA that the building violated the FAR, Asok Chacko, the legal advisor of the company, said the issue had been settled earlier through several judicial pronouncements.
“The company has not yet received any communication or notice regarding the denial of CRZ clearance for the project,” he added.
