Complaints filed over alleged mangrove destruction for STP near Sarovaram

Opposition is mounting in opposition to the proposed sewage therapy plant (STP) close to Sarovaram Bio Park, with activists alleging that its building is destroying mangroves and degrading wetlands. Protesters are urging authorities to halt work instantly and conduct a complete Environmental Affect Evaluation.

The Kozhikode-based Pouravakasha Samrakshana Samithi has submitted complaints to varied authorities departments on the matter. Based on the criticism filed by committee chairman Satheesh Parannur, a website inspection revealed the stays and pneumatophores (respiration or pencil roots) of Avicennia officinalis (a mangrove species domestically often called Uppootha), together with stagnant brackish water. The criticism states that there’s clear proof that timber and vegetation had been uprooted utilizing a JCB and that the world was subsequently full of soil. A number of uncommon plant species are additionally alleged to have been destroyed.

Mr. Parannur stated mangrove ecosystems are categorised as Ecologically Delicate Areas and fall beneath the CRZ-I category beneath the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2011. Development actions akin to STPs and land reclamation are prohibited in CRZ-I areas, he stated.

The committee additional alleged that the actions represent blatant violations of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, the Atmosphere (Safety) Act, 1986, and orders of the Nationwide Inexperienced Tribunal.

The criticism additionally alleges that an official from the Programme Unit of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) had licensed that the positioning was not a wetland, thereby facilitating the development of the STP.

Complaints have been submitted to the Kerala Coastal Zone Administration Authority (KCZMA), Forest Division, Kozhikode District Collector, State Wetland Authority Kerala (SWAK), Kerala State Air pollution Management Board, Kozhikode Municipal Company, and the Chief Secretary of Kerala.

The committee has demanded that the KCZMA and the Forest Division conduct a joint website inspection instantly and inform the petitioner prematurely in order that he can take part within the inspection. It has additionally sought the issuance of a short lived cease memo on building actions till the CRZ standing of the positioning is clarified. The committee additional demanded authorized motion in opposition to these liable for the alleged environmental harm and restoration of the destroyed wetland and mangrove ecosystem on the expense of the KWA.

Images and movies from the positioning have been submitted as proof together with the criticism. In Could 2026, a gathering chaired by then District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh directed the Kozhikode Company to expedite follow-up procedures for the Sarovaram STP, which had already acquired building approval.