Gujarat High Court seeks reply from state, pvt company over CRZ violation

The Gujarat High Court, on Monday, sought a reply from the state government, Gujarat Maritime Board, and Swan LNG Private Limited, after a public interest litigation (PIL) questioning the allotment of land to the private company and the activities being carried out by it in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms came up for hearing. The division bench of acting chief justice AS Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav issued notice to the authorities and the company directing them to file their replies in the matter by May 2.

As per the petition, the Amreli collector had allotted land to the board in Bhakodar village of Jafrabad taluka on certain terms and conditions, one of which was that there should not be any concrete construction and mining activity without prior permission. The board, thereafter, allotted the land to the private company for the development of greenfield LNG import terminal along with floating storage and regasification unit on the same terms and conditions. However, the board did not take permission from the authorities for allotment of land.

The petitioners have alleged that despite a prohibition on any concrete construction, the company had carried out such constructions up to 1.5 km into the sea. They also alleged that several representations have been made by them to expose the violation of CRZ norms by the company, but in vain.

In order to justify their opposition, the petitioners have submitted before the court that the Supreme Court has laid down broad guidelines for the allotment of land in CRZ area and issued directions for demolition of illegal construction. They have also demanded that the land should be taken back from the company and strict instructions should be issued to the authorities in question to ensure compliance of CRZ norms.