No let-up in illegal filling of wetland at Mavoor in Kozhikode

With no considerable progress in gaining community reserve status for around 500 acres of wetland in Mavoor panchayat, filling of wetland for construction purposes is continuing unabated in the region.

Sale of such illegally filled land for private construction projects and industrial purposes has also gained impetus, with no action being taken by the Revenue authorities.

According to environmentalists, unauthorised conversion of land is rampant in the outskirts of Eranholithazham, Manathanath, Kurikkathur, and Mecherikunnu. Despite the latest Kerala High Court verdict that those who bought paddy field or wetland after the enactment of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy land and Wetland Act in 2008 would not be allowed to convert the land for construction purposes, there is no let-up in business deals, they said.

A reason for rampant land conversion is the delay in obtaining community reserve status for the vast wetland. The State government is yet to take a final decision on the matter, though the Kerala State Biodiversity Board had okayed it. The Forest department is also reportedly delaying final clearances.

“The community reserve status will never interfere with the rights of landowners. The aim is to conserve the area by maintaining its biodiversity and ensuring sustainable livelihood for people,” said a former panchayat member. He added that the implementation of the proposal by covering a few villages in the nearby Peruvayal panchayat could easily prevent illegal land conversion.

However, with shortage of funds, reclamation of illegally converted land has also proved to be a failure. According to sources in the panchayat, collection of reclamation expenses from landowners is not practical for many reasons. They claimed that the panchayat was yet to receive money from many landowners whose illegally filled land was brought back to the previous state.