Kerala High Court Directs Formation Of Management Unit, Public Feedback Mechanism For Conservation Of Ashtamudi Wetland

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (July 29) directed the State government and the State Wetland Authority to constitute a specific unit for the conversation of Ashtamudi Wetland, namely, Ashtamudi Wetland Management Unit. Ashtamudi Lake in Kollam district is Kerala's second-largest wetland ecosystem. It is designated as a wetland of international relevance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The Ashatmudi Lake is encircled by Kollam Municipal Corporation and 12 Grama Panchayaths.The Court was considering a plea by Advocate Boris Paul, former President of the Kollam Bar Association, against waste dumping and illegal encroachments in the Ashtamudi lake causing water pollution and destruction of mangrove forests. The plea thus sought direction from the Court to clean and remove waste from the Ashtamudi Lake, to restore its natural boundaries after removing illegal encroachments and to appoint an independent monitoring committee by the Court for continuous monitoring from the authorities to ensure the long-term conservation of the Ashtamudi Lake.The Bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji observed that Management Unit has to be constituted within a period of 2 months after issuing an official notification in this regard. It also said that the Unit must have its first meeting within 2 months of the notification so as to decide on procedural formality for regulating its business."Standard Operating Procedure shall be formulated by the Unit to govern its functioning, specifying modalities such as venue, frequency of meetings and the mechanism for coordination," the Court observed in its judgment.To ensure that the Unit would be in a position to receive public feedback, the Court directed that the Unit will have its own website or at least a dedicated webpage hosted on the website of the wetland authority with a feedback mechanism with public access. It observed, "The website will have the necessary information, including the management plan, final and interim composition of the authorities, various such other materials that would be relevant will be placed in public domain. the authority will also develop an effective digital feedback mechanism, both web and social media for general public to bring its notice the matters of concern by enabling them to upload/share audio-video material."The Court directed the state government to provide the Unit with necessary office infrastructure, support staff and funding for its functioning. It further observed, "All government departments and statutory agencies will act in aid of the Unit and extend full cooperation."It also granted liberty to the Secretary of the Unit to approach the Court under the present petition in case any further directions are required, especially regarding adequacy of infrastructure and cooperation by another other department.The Bench also directed that an Integrated Management Plan for the wetland shall be finalised within 6 months from the date of the judgement in accordance with governing regulations. The plan must follow the procedure laid down in applicable guidelines and orders issued under the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017."Till the final integration management plan is put in place, State Wetland Authority will consider developing an interim management plan for the guidance of Management Unit as per governing procedure and regulations," the Court said.Last year, the High Court had directed the Kollam Sub Collector to initiate action to remove illegal encroachers from in and around Ashtamudi Lake. A month back, the Court had asked to constitute Ashtamudi Local Wetland Authority/ sub-committee for the protection and conservation of Ashtamudi wetland.Thus, it disposed of the writ petition.Case No: WP(C) No. 18400/2024Case Title: Advocate Boris Paul and Anr. v. Union of India and Ors.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 465Counsel for the petitioner: Ajmal A., Dhanush C.A., Priyanka Sharma M.R., Ananya M.G.Counsel for the respondents: M.R. Sasith – R10, R16, R19 & R12, Siju Kamalasanan – SC - R11, Vinoy Varghese Kallumoottill – R13 & 18, K.V. Anil Kumar & Radhika S. Anil – R14, Manoj Ramaswamy – SC – R15 & 21, Bijith S. Khan – SC – R17, Prakash M.P. – SC – KCZMA, V. Premchand, S. Sreekumar – SC – Kollam Corporation, T. Naveen – SC – Pollution Control BoardClick To Read/Download Judgment

Kerala High Court Directs Formation Of Management Unit, Public Feedback Mechanism For Conservation Of Ashtamudi Wetland

K. Salma Jennath

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