Kochi: A division bench of the high court has set aside a single-judge order that had restrained the Goshree Islands Development Authority (Gida) from constructing commercial kiosks on the Queens Walkway near the Marine Drive in Kochi.
Earlier, in a petition filed by the Tritvam Apartment Owners Association, an association of the residents of a complex on the Goshree-Pachalam Link Road, the HC had held that Gida lacked authority over the Goshree-Chathiyath Road and the adjacent Queens Walkway, and that footpaths could not be used for commercial kiosks, citing the right to walk freely under Articles 19 and 21. Reversing that finding, the division bench traced Gida’s patta over 25 hectares in Ernakulam village, assigned for the Vypin bridges project. A bench of Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Preeta A K was considering the appeals filed by the Gida and the successful tenderer M/s C Jacob and Company. It had further directed the authorities not to construct, install or operate kiosks there. It held that the land vested in Gida, not the Kochi corporation, and was not included in the corporation’s asset register. Gida can carry out development activities on the road and walkway, though subject to municipal regulatory laws where they do not overlap with its project powers. The division bench, upon perusing the documents and the facts of the case, found no basis for the apprehension that fundamental rights would be violated. It also noted that the single judge did not hold the public interest litigation roster, and that private rights over the walkway could be decided in pending civil suits. The kiosks, as proposed, were held not illegal.