Kerala High Court orders urgent restoration of mangrove forests in Kannur

The Kerala High Court on Monday disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which had sought action against the illegal destruction of mangrove forests in Kunhimangalam Village, Kannur. [PP Rajan v. State of Kerala & ors].A Division Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji highlighted the ecological significance of mangroves and their role in protecting biodiversity - preventing flood and maintaining sediment balance. It stressed that it is the statutory duty of the State and its authorities to prevent illegal destruction of ecosystems."The authorities are under a statutory mandate to ensure that unauthorized constructions are prevented. The Authorities have to be vigilant by themselves about the illegalities taking place in the area. Periodical site inspections should be carried out and instances such as the large-scale destruction of mangroves have to be noticed by the officers during their field visits to restraint them immediately," the Court added..The Court directed the Central and state governments and their departments, as well as local authorities, to coordinate planned actions for the removal of waste from the protected zone and to restore the mangrove forest area at Kunhimangalam village to its original state by replanting mangrove saplings within a period of three months.It directed the Conservator of Forests to ensure timely compliance with the direction with the help of other government departments.The State government was further directed to establish a permanent monitoring mechanism by nominating a survey team of officers who are responsible for preventing illegal activities in this area.Until a formal monitoring plan is put in place by the State, the Court directed a three-member team comprising the Tahsildar, Range Forest Officer and Range Environmental Engineer to conduct periodical site visits and submit reports to the District Collector on violations of the Coastal Regulation Zone notification in respect of mangrove forests.The Court added that the Collector would be empowered to forward reported violations to concerned officials for immediate legal action. Mechanisms such as helpline numbers, emails, social media, notice boards etc must also be developed by the Collector to facilitate a platform for citizens and organisations to report any violations..The mangrove areas are classified under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) IA and IB, among the most protected zones under the CRZ Notification 2011 and 2019.The petition before the Court had highlighted large scale destruction of mangroves in the village by two private individuals involved in real estate, who had illegally dumped soil and building debris in the mangroves and constructed illegal roads through the protected zones coming under the CRZ.The petitioner approached the Court after no action was taken by officials to prevent the damage caused in the mangrove forest region. He had alleged that the private individuals dumped soil and building debris in the mangroves, affecting several protected parts of the mangrove area and even constructed illegal roads without the approval of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority or the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.The Court, while monitoring the case, noted that the actions of the private individuals had violated the CRZ notifications, the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 and other statutory provisions.Observing the slow progress of restorative measures by the officials, the Court passed directions, emphasising on the importance of protecting ecologically sensitive zones..The petitioner was represented by Advocates Mahesh V Ramakrishnan and Praveen KS.Advocate MP Prakash appeared for Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority and the State Wetland Authority.Advocate M Sasindran represented Kunhimangala Grama Panchayat.Special Government Pleader Nagaraj Narayanan represented the state..[Read Judgment]