Consider report on status of pokkali fields, govt. told

The State government shall consider the report of the committee appointed by the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority on the status of pokkali fields, while finalising the Coastal Zone Management Plan, directed the Kerala High Court. It was on a petition moved by T. Ayisha Devi of North Paravur that the court issued the order. The petitioner submitted that her pokkali field in Mulavukad village was included in the CRZ-IB Zone in the plan, based on satellite pictures. Contenting that the holding cannot be brought under CRZ-IB Zone, she submitted that similar holdings in Kuttanad area were not brought under the Coastal Zone Management Plan at all. She also submitted that the committee appointed to determine the status of pokkali fields in Kerala had recommended in 2006 to exclude such fields from the restricted zones and the Coastal Zone Management Plan.