Kerala HC stays demolition of houses close to sea in Lakshadweep

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday stayed the demolition of houses and structures in Lakshadweep situated close to the sea for flouting coastal norms

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday stayed the demolition of houses and structures in Lakshadweep situated close to the sea for flouting coastal norms. People living in at least 100 houses were served notices by the island administration, and aggrieved parties later moved the court.

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In their petition, two residents of Kavaratti said since the sea was their main source of living, they have been staying close to it for years, and the order to demolish their dwellings was illegal and arbitrary. They were served notices last month saying that their structures were against the integrated island management plan, and they lie within 20 metres from the high tide line.

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But petitioners contended that all dwellings were constructed before the enactment of the island management plan which came later and cannot be applied retrospectively. They also argued that a special permit was not required to construct any building on their land, that the notices were arbitrary and with ulterior motives. and that the notices were a clear infringement of the rights of scheduled tribes. About 90% of the island’s population are Muslims and they come under the scheduled tribe category.

The administration cited many existing laws to buttress its point and said most of the buildings under notice were constructed illegally and against the integrated island management plan. After hearing both sides, a single bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan stayed all proceedings till further notice.

Last week, the high court stayed two other controversial orders of administrator Praful Khoda Patel relating to the closure of dairy farms and exclusion of meat from the midday meal scheme.

Residents of the island have been protesting against some of the regulations brought by the new administrator for more than a month, saying they will dilute their customs and traditions. They are up in arms against the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (2021) that proposes to develop the islands as a major tourist destination, proposed goonda act and plan to ban cow slaughter on the island.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Aisha Sultana who returned to Kochi, after being questioned for five days by the Lakshadweep police, in connection with a sedition, said she will continue her fight for the self-respect and identity of the island people. Talking to a news channel, Sultana said she will make a movie on her experience. A sedition case was slapped on her by the island police for calling the administrator a bioweapon during a panel discussion on a news channel. Later, the Kerala High Court had granted her anticipatory bail.