DLF inquiry remains a non-starter

Nine days after govt. ordered a probe, KCZMA yet to inspect site

July 12, 2014 10:52 am | Updated 10:52 am IST - KOCHI

A view of DLF apartment at Chilavannur Lake near Kadavanthra in Kochi. File Photo

A view of DLF apartment at Chilavannur Lake near Kadavanthra in Kochi. File Photo

: The investigation into the reported Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violation by DLF in Chilavannoor Vyttila has been caught in red-tape.

The Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) could not issue orders to the members of the committee even nine days after the government announced the probe. Though the two members of the panel were willing to inspect the site on Friday, they dropped the plan as the authority failed to issue required orders.

Announcing the probe by a three-member-committee on the floor of the State Assembly on July 2, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, the Minister for Environment, had assured the house that the panel would submit its report within a fortnight. It was following a report from Chief Secretary E.K. Bharat Bhushan incriminating the builder and some officials that the government ordered inquiry.

Later, in a letter to the KCZMA on July 4, the Minister had asked the panel to “come out with a clear report on the CRZ status” after inspecting all available data and through inspection of the site and the location of the project. He had also asked the authority members to submit their report within 15 days without fail, sources said.

Though the 62 meeting of the KCZMA had originally constituted the three-member committee to look into the allegations, it failed to inspect the site and documents as one of its members was unavailable. The panel had A. Ramachandran, Kamalakshan Kokkal and K. Padmakumar as its members. Mr. Ramachandran, who is abroad, had informed the committee that he would be returning only on July 17.

The members dropped the inspection plan as the authority had also not made its stand on the question whether the two members could go ahead with the probe in the absence of the third member, said a panel member. KCZMA chairman V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai was unavailable for comments.

Mr. Bhushan had concluded that there was no valid CRZ clearance for the project and the construction was illegal. He also reported that the “reclamation of the backwaters since 2005 is clearly discernible.”

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