Kerala HC rebukes panchayat for hasty licensing of PV Anvar's children's park

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday criticised the swift issuance of a licence by the Koodaranji Panchayat to Nilambur MLA PV Anvar, for the operation of a children’s park in Kakkadampoyil, Kozhikode.

The permission was granted in a day, while the High Court was examining a petition challenging the approval given to the park. The court learned that the Panchayat also received a fee payment of Rs 7 lakh for the licence and an additional Rs 2.5 lakh for revenue recovery dues.

Justice Viju Abraham on Thursday critically remarked that, if such speedy permissions were common, the court’s caseload might decrease significantly.

The High Court also asked why the license was given to Anvar's park in such haste. However, the panchayat clarified that the licence only pertained to the opening of the park and not to the use of facilities such as rides and pools within. Subsequently, the court directed both the Panchayat and Anvar to file an affidavit delineating which park operations were permissible.

The Koodaranji panchayat had informed the High Court the other day that the children's park in Kakadampoil of MLA PV Anvar was operating without a licence. The High Court then directed the government to explain how the park was operating without a licence.

The panchayat informed that the application for the park licence had been submitted but there were errors in the related documents. It was suggested to correct it. The HC sought an explanation from the Koodaranji panchayat based on the RTI document that the park was operating without a licence from the panchayat.

TV Rajan, a former secretary of the Kerala River Protection Committee, called for the revocation of an official order to reopen the PeeVeeaaR Nature O Park closed earlier due to landslides, citing illegal constructions and lack of mandatory safety inspections as per his RTI findings.
The case will be heard again on Monday.