Petition seeks curbs on coastal construction

The Kerala High Court today admitted a writ petition in Kochi seeking that the Centre and the state government should restrain construction activity in 'no-development zones' in violation of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification under the guise of rehabilitation of tsunami victims.

This petition highlights the tension between those responsible for rehabilitation and housing, including the government, and environmental groups.

The court accepted a writ petition filed by the Association for Environmental Protection (ALUVA), which argued that on the pretext of rehabilitating tsunami victims, interested parties were seeking to dilute the provisions of the coastal regulation zone notification.

In Kerala, the regulation restricts the construction of buildings up to 200 meters from the high-tide level. In Tamil Nadu, the threshold is 500 metres.

The Tamil Nadu government is proposing to construct semi-permanent structures for fishermen who have lost their shacks. In order to do so, the government may have to relax the coastal regulation zone provisions.

The apprehension, however, is that once restrictions are relaxed, private developers might move into the area. For instance, the Slum Clearance Board had erected new dwellings for fishermen on the Marina beach in Chennai. But the fishermen immediately sold these flats and returned to their shacks by the sea.

The developments, or possible amendments, of the CRZ guidelines have immense commercial implications. Ocean-front real estate in Kochi or Chennai is prohibitively expensive, traditionally at least 20 per cent higher than elsewhere in the city.

Although the tsunami, Chennai-based developers say, has caused a temporary dip in prices, if changes in the coastal regulation zone norms are proposed, hese will quickly recover.

Similarly, areas like the Lawson Bay Colony in Visakhapatnam have taken a price beating but this could be a temporary phenomenon, realty firms say.

Experts in real estate prices like CB Richard Ellis say if the CRZ guidelines are changed, more properties might come on the market.

In October, land prices, especially along the coast in Tamil Nadu, had shot through the roof, especially industrial estates lying idle on Old Mahabalipuram Road. The boom was caused by the adoption of Tamil Nadu by Information Technology companies. Developers say that the tsunami will only slow it down.

They cite the case of Hawaii where killer waves are common but this does not affect the prices of land.

This is causing deep concern to environmentalists who say vast tracts of public beaches might become private property if action is not taken to restrain governments.