GVMC Demolishes CRZ-Violating Structure in Bheemili
Petitioner’s counsel K. S. Murthy argued that the builder had concealed the structure by covering it with sand.
Visakhapatnam: The Town Planning authorities of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) have begun demolishing a concrete structure built by Neha Reddy, daughter of former Rajya Sabha member V. Vijayasai Reddy, for violating Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms and misleading the High Court in its compliance petition.
The corporation deployed heavy earth-moving machinery to dismantle the structure, which extended 10 feet below ground level.
Following a petition by Jana Sena leader and GVMC corporator PLN Murthy Yadav, the High Court on February 5 directed the formation of a committee to survey Bheemunipatnam Beach and submit a report on violations. Based on the findings, the GVMC and the Andhra Pradesh State Coastal Zone Management Authority were instructed to take appropriate action.
The committee's report stated that the violations had been removed. However, photographs showed that while above-ground structures were demolished, the underground portions remained intact.
Petitioner’s counsel K. S. Murthy argued that the builder had concealed the structure by covering it with sand.
Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Ravi Cheemalapati expressed their inability to understand how the committee’s report failed to identify hidden structures extending over 588 metres and reaching a depth of six feet.
