The demolition of the illegally constructed villas of Kapico Resorts Pvt. Ltd on Nediyathuruthu island on Vembanad Lake here began on Thursday.
The move comes 32 months after the Supreme Court ordered the razing of the high-end resort, citing that the constructions on the backwater island at Panavally grama panchayat in Alappuzha violated coastal and environmental regulations.
A demolition plan submitted by the resort management was accorded approval by the panchayat on Wednesday, paving the way for bulldozing the resort. Among the buildings to be torn down include 54 villas and a main block among other facilities spread over 35,000 sq ft.
The structures are dismantled by the resort management under the watchful eyes of the Alappuzha district administration and the local panchayat authorities. The demolition and transportation of reusable materials along with debris, carried out in an environmentally safe manner, are expected to be completed in six months.
In the initial phase of the demolition, the compound walls of the cottages are removed. Roofs of the buildings will be pulled down in the next stage.
"All the structures will be razed to the ground in six months. It will be done without using public money. The resort management will bear the entire cost of the operations. Both the demolition and transportation of waste will be carried out without causing environmental pollution. Measures have been taken to check air and water quality at regular intervals along with steps to prevent sound pollution," said District Collector V.R. Krishna Teja who visited the island on Thursday.
The razing of the resort is a major victory for the fishing community and a message against constructing structures violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Act and other norms. It was in 2007 that the 11.5-acre island was bought by Kapico. It soon began work on the resort. The project, however, changed the life of fisher families in the area after 13 licensed stake nets got removed for building villas.
The legal battle began after a fisherman moved the Cherthala Munsiff Court in 2008 demanding the demolition of villas constructed in violation of the CRZ Act. The petition also sought damages and restoration of nets. However, the court dismissed the petition. Later, the Cherthala Sub Court issued a stop memo to Kapico in 2010 and the legal proceedings soon reached the Kerala High Court.
In the meantime, Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi (TUCI) and others impleaded in the case. The High Court ordered the demolition of the structures in 2013. Though Kapico challenged the verdict in the apex court, it dismissed the appeals on January 10, 2020.
Earlier this week, the Kerala government reclaimed 2.93 hectares of puramboke land encroached upon by Kapico on the island.
Charles George, president, TUCI, said the demolition of the resort should be a lesson to the government which “prioritises tourism” above the environment and the livelihood of local residents. “The government should initiate concrete measures to save the dying Vembanad Lake,” he said.
