Kochi: A division bench of Kerala High Court on Wednesday ordered that the DLF need not demolish the apartment complex built at Chilavannoor in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone Act. The court, however, imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on the builder for violating CRZ rules and said it should be submitted to the department of environment. Green activists expressed dismay over the judgment and pointed out that it amounted to an open invitation for the violation of coastal regulation rules.
The division bench reversed the order of Justice A.V. Ramakrishna Pillai delivered in December 2014 calling for the demolition of portions of the DLF Riverside, a premium waterfront apartment complex. The division bench, however, upheld the observations of the single bench that the apartment complex was built in violation of the CRZ rules and other regulations.
The division bench decided against demolition taking into consideration the huge investments made in the project and the difficulties that may befall on the people in case of demolition. The DLF Riverside is a premium apartment complex comprising 185 units and the average price ranged from '1.5 crore to '4 crore per apartment.
The Kochi Corporation had given permission for the construction of the apartment complex in 2007. The construction commenced soon and the apartment complex spread over five acres of land was completed in 2013. The matter came to court when a local person E.V. Antony approached the HC citing violations of CRZ rules.
The Kerala government then appointed an expert committee headed by the then chief secretary Bharat Bhushan on the direction of the HC and the report submitted by the committee found serious violations of statuary provisions by various agencies, including Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority, Environmental Assessment Authority and Kochi Corporation.
