Point of Law: Rule 75(1) of Kerala Municipality Building Rules, 2019, specifically prescribes that permission of Panchayat is necessary before constructing a well.

JUDGMENT :

The question arising for consideration in this writ petition is whether a well can be dug in a paddy land for commercial use.

2. Petitioner claims to have taken steps for setting up a manufacturing unit for packaged drinking water. She obtained a permit to construct a building in Re.Sy. Nos.358/3-4 and 356/2D-7 of Maneed Village, Muvattupuzha Taluk. Petitioner intends to set up her manufacturing unit on land, which is classified as a nilam and notified in the data bank. The Kerala Ground Water Department, after conducting its tests, confirmed that the area is suitable for construction of an open well with dimensions of 8 metres in length, 6 metres in width and 10 metres in depth in Sy. Nos.359/3-10, 359/3 and 359/4 of Maneed Village. Based on the confirmation from the Kerala Ground Water Department, petitioner applied to the Panchayat seeking a No Objection Certificate for the project. However, by communication dated 14.07.2022, the Panchayat informed her that approval from the Revenue Divisional Officer is necessary and that as per Rule 75(1) of the Kerala Panchayat Building Rules, 2019, prior permission of the Panchayat is also essential before constructing a well.

3. In the meantime, petitioner approached the Revenue Divisional Officer to remove her land from the data bank. She filed an application under Form 5 of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2018 (for short 'the Act'). While so, petitioner received an intimation from the Ground Water Department that permission of the Grama Panchayat is necessary for considering her application for using the groundwater for the project. It is in such circumstances that this writ petition has been filed seeking to quash the communication issued by the Panchayat on 14.07.2022 as well as for a direction to the Panchayat to issue a No Objection Certificate to the petitioner.

4. A counter affidavit has been filed by the Panchayat, pointing out that petitioner is attempting to mislead the authorities by misinterpreting the No Objection Certificate obtained by her. The said NOC was obtained to dig a well in a dry land, but she has misused it to dig a well in a paddy land, that too, in a different survey number and far away from the dry land. The counter affidavit further pleaded that the digging of a well for manufacturing purposes in the wetland was a clear violation of rule 4(2) of the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 and that petitioner had dug a well in a wetland without the permission of the Panchayat and has thereafter attempted to obtain a NOC. Panchayat further pleaded that the construction of a well in a paddy land, that too, for using it for commercial purposes, is not contemplated under the Act. Respondent also stated that such a construction is opposed to the Objects and Reasons of the Act and that such activities will deplete the water source, ultimately drying up the ground.

5. I have heard Smt. Chitra Johnson, the learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri. Sunu P. John, learned Standing Counsel for the Panchayat, as well as Smt.K. Amminikutty, learned Senior Government Pleader.

6. Paddy lands and wetlands play a significant role in the ecological balance. They are a vital part of the hydrological cycle and are highly productive ecosystems which support rich biodiversity, providing for the numerous services of the ecosystem such as water storage, water purification, flood mitigation, erosion control and even aquifer recharge. The large-scale conversion of paddy fields will result in enormous ecological degradation, leading to intensification of soil erosion, affecting the fertility of soil and reduction of groundwater levels in wells, ponds and even rivers.

7. The State of Kerala noticed that the land cover change in the paddy lands and wetlands in the State caused by human activities has led to regional climate alterations. The Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, was enacted to halt the unregulated conversions of padd