HC stops all construction activities in Kuruva Island

Kochi: The high court has ordered that no construction activities shall continue at Kuruva Island in Wayanad, without obtaining further approval. The bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and P Gopinath issued the directive while considering a suo motu case initiated due to increasing human-animal conflicts across the state.
Previously, the bench had ordered the temporary closure of all eco-tourism activities in Wayanad.During the hearing, Advocate Sandesh Raja submitted that sanction had been granted for construction activities worth about Rs 2 crore for eco-tourism at Kuruva Island. The bench asked the additional advocate general to urgently obtain instructions on how such sanction was granted for the construction activities.
The bench also directed the Idukki district collector to submit a report on the legal basis for conducting safaris by private individuals. This directive was prompted by a shocking incident where the mahout of an elephant used for safaris in the Idukki district was killed by the elephant. It was also stated that the safaris were illegal and that nearly 36 elephants were being used for such activities across the state without any permission from relevant authorities, including the forest department. The bench directed the district collector to provide details of any compensation given to the family of the deceased mahout.
Ramesh Babu, the amicus curiae, pointed out the urgent need for fencing around the waste dump yard at Kallar to prevent wild elephants from entering the area. The Munnar panchayath submitted that there was an extreme shortage of funds for the panchayath. The bench asked the additional advocate general to obtain instructions on whether the funds could initially be provided by the govt and adjusted against other amounts payable to the panchayath. The court also requested information on whether any funds available with the district disaster management authority could be used for this purpose.