Kozhikode Corporation to check CRZ violation at Puthiyapalam

Alleged unauthorised construction on the banks of Conolly Canal

The Kozhikode Corporation will hold a detailed inspection of the spot at Puthiyapalam where an unauthorised construction on the banks of Conolly Canal recently made headlines. Local councillor P.K. Nasar said he would submit a report to the Corporation Secretary on Monday, besides seeking a joint survey of the banks of the canal by various departments. It was on July 14 that the corporation’s town planning wing served a stop memo on the construction of a building which is barely three metres away from the canal at Puthiyapalam, in clear violation of the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) rules. The councillor and a building inspector, along with activists of the Kallai River Protection Committee had visited the spot on the previous day and demanded that the construction be stopped. But work resumed just minutes after the group left, following which the councillor informed the police. “The violation was due to negligence on the part of officials,” Mr. Nasar said, adding, “The builders had sought clearance for the construction in 2011 and did not renew the permit for 10 years. The CRZ rules came into effect in 2016. When the builders sought renewal of permit, corporation officials should not have encouraged it.”