‘Large-scale pollution’: Why Kerala High Court is cracking down on houseboats plying on longest lake in India

The Kerala High Court passed the directions while dealing with a plea seeking directions to state authorities to take immediate steps for issuing survey certificate and registration certificate to the petitioners boat.

Findings

• Apart from other factors like reclamation and construction leading to environmental degradation of the Vembanad-Kol wetland, the exponential increase of house boats, way beyond the carrying capacity of the lake, also resulted in large scale pollution due to unscientific disposal of septage, garbage, non-biodegradable waste and oil spillage.
• According to the report submitted by the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management in October 2015, 567 registered houseboats and numerous unregistered houseboats were plying in Vembanad lake. Since then, the number of house boats has gone up.
• While the dispute in these writ petitions is mainly centered on whether the houseboats registered at Kodungallur Port can be permitted to operate in Alappuzha and Kumarakom area, the immediate concern of this Court is regarding the pollution generated by the houseboats.
• As per the mandate of sub-section (4) of Section 53 of Inland Vessels Act, every mechanically propelled inland vessel should carry a valid certificate of prevention of pollution and furnish the same on demand by the concerned officers.
• Considering the ‘immediate requirement of controlling the pollution caused by non-complaint houseboats’, the court passed a slew of directions.

Directions

• The owners/operators of the houseboats plying in Vembanad lake shall present their boats for inspection by the Kerala Maritime Board, and obtain certificate of prevention of pollution as mandated in Section 53(2) of the Act within one month.
• The board shall thereupon conduct inspection and issue the certificate to houseboats having the requisite equipment, systems, fittings and arrangement.
• The board can collect the prescribed fee for carrying out the inspection and issuing the certificate.
• Houseboats without the certificate of compliance of prevention and containment of pollution shall not be permitted to ply in the Vembanad lake after three months of this order.
• Above directions not applicable to Shikara boats and it will be open to the board to grant registration to Shikara boats in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the Rules thereunder.