The Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the State government and the District Collector to respond to a writ petition seeking a directive to stop the alleged illegal reclamation being undertaken by the Kochi Corporation on the banks of Chilavannoor canal for the construction of a park and an auditorium.
The petition was filed by Nipun Cherian Manjooran of Kakkanad. According to him, the Corporation was encroaching on the banks of Chilavannoor canal on the southern side of Chilavannoor bridge behind DLF flats for building a park and an auditorium. As a result, the width of the canal had shrunk after the Corporation started dumping waste into the canal for reclamation. The Corporation was undertaking the works in violation of the laws relating to preservation of wetlands and Coastal Regulation Zone norms, the petitioner said.
