Stop construction activity on Alibaug beach: HC Bombay

Mumbai:-The Bombay High Court in a recent interim order to the state revenue department and the collector of Raigad, has asked them to put a stop to encroachments on a beach at Nandgaon, Alibaug.

Responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), the court took immediate cognizance of violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms on the beach.

The PIL had sought the court’s direction to the state as well as the Union Government to “protect the beach and shoreline at Nandgaon”. BEAG named the state environment and revenue department, the collector of Raigad, tahsildar of Murud, the sub-divisional officer of Alibaug, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Maharashtra Coastal Management Authority as respondents.

In its order, the court upheld the ‘polluter pays’ principle in environmental law. The principle states that the party carrying on a polluting or environmentally non-benign activity must pay for the damage done to the environment. While BEAG is unaware as to who were behind the activities leading to the flouting of norms, the court has given the state and the Raigad collector the responsibility of preventing the activity and taking action against those responsible.

The PIL informed about “the construction of an  illegal road which, it appears, is about to be built on the beach itself; and for largescale illegal sand mining.” It stated that both the activities violated the CRZ notification of 1991.

The petition also pointed out that Alibaug falls within the CRZ III and the construction on the beach was in a CRZ area, between the high tide line (HTL) and the low tide line (LTL).

“Recently we visited the site and took photographs of construction of a road there. The work is clearly illegal,” stated Dr Sayed Nudrat Zawar, a senior conservation officer of the Conservation Action Trust, an offshoot of BEAG.

CRZ notification classifies coastal areas: The CRZ-I areas are (i) those that are ecologically sensitive and (ii) the area between the HTL and the LTL.

CRZ-III areas are those that are relatively undisturbed and those which do not belong to either Category-I or II (the latter being already developed areas). CRZ III areas include coastal zones in rural areas (developed and undeveloped) and areas within municipal limits or in other legally designated urban areas which are not substantially built up.

What is CRZ ?

The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification, issued by the Ministry of Environment & Forests on February 19, 1991, under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act seeks to protect the ecology and environment of India’s coastline. It states that the area (i) within 500 metres of the High Tide Line (HTL), and (ii) the area between the HTL and the Low Tide Line (LTL) is a Coastal Regulation Zone. Restrictions are imposed on development activities in CRZ. The HTL is the line to which the highest of the spring or neap tides, reach.

Cops hunt for City Limo boss as court rejects anticipatory bail

C Unnikrishnan, TNN 14 November 2009, 02:11am IST
MUMBAI: The city police have launched a hunt for City Limouzines chairman S M Masood after the sessions court rejected his anticipatory bail 

Twitter Facebook Share Email Print Save Comment

on Friday.

More than 200 investors had gathered at the court from the morning to hear the verdict. Sessions judge N D Dhote pushed it back twice, and finally pronounced a one-line order saying Masood's anticipatory bail was rejected. There are three FIRs against him in Mumbai.

City Limouzines and its sister concern City Realcom have been accused of defaulting on interest payments to thousands of investors nationwide. "We've been trying to locate Masood. We checked several places where he might be hiding," a senior police officer said.

Masood's lawyers had argued that it was a civil dispute, but the police contended that it was a case of cheating and said several investors had been duped by the company.

The court order is a major setback for Masood, who has been filing numerous petitions in several courts for relief. He has filed six transfer petitions in the Supreme Court, for which the apex court has asked the state to file its reply.

The police have also initiated a separate investigation into group company City Realcom's agreement with some landowners where a plot of the land was shown to investors as belonging to them.

City Realcom had floated a scheme promising investors 20 square feet of land at the end of the maturity period. "The investigations are at a preliminary stage, and we are still in the process of verifying the documents,'' a police officer said.