In Brief
A resort company challenged a High Court order prohibiting construction on Nediyathuruthu island, a backwater island in Kerala's Vembanad Lake. The company claimed the island fell outside Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) restrictions. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals, holding that the High Court's findings had already been endorsed in the court's earlier decision on an identical neighbouring island. Both islands are backwater areas covered by CRZ 1991, fall under CRZ I restrictions, contain environmentally sensitive features, and do not require island-specific studies. The Vembanad Lake's protected status applies uniformly. Permits obtained in 1996 and 2007 were invalid as they violated pre-existing CRZ directives. Subsequent regulatory changes do not retroactively permit unauthorized resort construction.
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