Vembanad under the scanner too

Special Task Force has approached State govt. for funds for survey

May 15, 2017 11:47 pm | Updated May 16, 2017 08:07 am IST - KOCHI

The Vembanad lake system has been identified as a hotbed of CRZ violations and encroachments

The Vembanad lake system has been identified as a hotbed of CRZ violations and encroachments

After Munnar, the focus is now shifting towards illegal occupation and constructions on the banks of Vembanad Lake.

The Special Task Force (STF), which was formed for surveying the lake as instructed by the Supreme Court, has drawn up an action plan and approached the State government for funds. It would take 1,428 survey days and ₹45 lakh to complete the job. Though the STF had sought financial support from the local bodies, only a few offered to loosen their purse strings.

Violations

The lake system, which touches 38 local self-government institutions in Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts, has been identified as a hotbed of Coastal Regulation Zone violations and encroachments.

It was following a suo moto order from the Supreme Court in 2013 that the STF was formed with the Fort Koch RDO as its head.

The Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority had earlier compiled a list of over 10,000 “land modifications” on the banks of the lake with the help of the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS).

The NCESS relied on high resolution images from Google map and historical images to identify the changes in the coast, which was mostly in the form of reclamation of wetlands and constructions in CRZ area.

Though the KCZMA had asked the local bodies to verify the land modifications to segregate legal and illegal ones, it didn’t progress much.

Listing out the mandate of the STF, Adeela Abdullah, its leader, said eviction or removal of encroachment from the banks of the lake was not the job of the team.

The Supreme Court has directed the authorities to carry out a survey of Vembanad Lake and report back. Hence, the STF would focus on identifying the boundaries of the lake and fix boundary stones as indicated in the records. The details will be submitted to the apex court, explained Ms. Abdullah.

During the survey, the officials will also verify the title deeds and puzha pattayams that were issued on the banks of the lake. Of late, the government has stopped the practice of issuing puzha pattayam.

While issuing the order, the Bench consisting of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice A.K. Sikri had said it was inclined to issue notices to various “authorities to explain the steps they have taken to implement Coastal Regulation Zone, in the lake and Islands as a whole, steps they have taken to restore the illegally reclaimed banks of the lake, steps taken to avert pollution etc. within a period of six weeks.”

The court observed that “Vembanad Backwaters was presently undergoing severe environmental degradation and there has been large scale encroachment and illegal constructions are going on in violation of the CRZ Notifications.”

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