The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday extended its stay-order period in connection with demolitions of illegal hotels and lodges in Mandarmani tourist spot in East Midnapore district till 24 January.
Earlier, the HC had stayed its order till 13 December, directing the district administration not to implement its notification issued to owners of hotels and resorts asking the latter to demolish the structures.
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With the extension of the stay period issued today, illegal hotels and lodges won’t be demolished following the notification issued by the district administration.
The single Bench of Justice Joy Sengupta today directed that the next hearing of the case would be heard on 17 January.
On 11 November, the East Midnapore district magistrate had issued a notification to owners of 140 hotels and resorts located within the coastal zone of Mandarmoni asking them to demolish the structures forthwith.
On 2 May in 2022, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the demolition of illegal constructions in Mandarmani and its adjoining four moujas in the Digha-Shankarpur coastal area.
The NGT observed that these hotels and resorts were built in violation of coastal regulations, causing continuous harm to the coastal and marine ecology.
Coastal zones are areas where the sea meets the land and also places coming under the impact of sea waves. According to a rough estimate, the nearly 500-metre area after the end of the sea is considered the coastal zone in Mandarmani. Nearly 140 big hotels and resorts are constructed within the coastal zone of Mandarmani.
Though the NGT had given its verdict in 2022, the district administration took time to react. A senior official from East Midnapore stated that implementing the NGT order from May 2022 had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic but that action could no longer be postponed.
“We initiated steps to demolish the constructions in Mandarmani in 2022, but the pandemic made it impossible to proceed. Now, we cannot delay further, and the first step has been taken,” said the official.
The Mandarmani Hoteliers’ Association moved the high court challenging the validity of the DM’s notification and also the legality of NGT’s directive.
The matter came up for hearing for the first time before Justice Amrita Sinha on Friday.
The lawyer appearing for the East Midnapore administration informed the judge that following the NGT directive district magistrate Purnendu Maji had issued the notification asking hotel owners to demolish the structures and vacate the areas under their control by 20 November.
After hearing the case, the judge issued the interim order staying the operation of the DM’s notification till 13 December and asked Maji to file an affidavit by 4 December.
The judge also asked all those interested to add themselves as parties to the case before the matter is heard again.
Realising the gravity of the DM’s order, chief minister Mamata Bannerjee had voiced her opposition to the demolition order and declared that no bulldozer would be allowed to be used in her state.
