Fisheries department has come out in opposition to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed at the Kerala High Court seeking to prevent dewatering of Methran Kayal, where an eco-tourism project has been proposed by Chennai-based Rakindo Developers Pvt Ltd. The PIL was filed by one Krishnakumar K seeking a directive not to allow dewatering until the end of November citing breeding season of fishes living in the backwaters. A counter affidavit filed by joint director of fisheries KK Satheesh Kumar to the court said the petitioner’s apprehension is ill-founded and without any basis. “The apprehension of the petitioner that the fish wealth in the Methran Kayal region will be destroyed if de-watering is done is without any basis. The de-watering of paddy fields will not cause any harm to the adult fishes as well as the young ones as the entire stock of fishes and its young ones are drained back to the lake ecosystem during the process of de-watering,” the affidavit said. Supporting the dewatering bid, fisheries department told the court that fresh water in the area has to be dewatered and the land should be made fit for paddy cultivation by preparing and strengthening existing bunds and clearing of canals. This activity is to be started by the end of August every year so that the land will be ready for paddy cultivation by end of November, the affidavit said. After lying uncultivated for the last seven years, paddy cultivation has been proposed in the 420-acre Mehtran Kayal by some owners of paddy lands. The land falls under Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 and it is a statutory obligation to cultivate fallow paddy land every year, the court was told. If the demand for blocking dewatering raised in the present petition is allowed, it would virtually stop restarting of paddy cultivation in Methran Kayal, the department’s affidavit said while alleging that the present petition is filed to support Rakindo.
2016, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.