HC stays ban on shrimp farming

KOCHI: Alappuzha district collector's order directing paddy field owners not to engage in shrimp farming was stayed by the Kerala high court on Friday.
Allowing petitions filed by paddy filed owners M K Joseph and Ramachandran Nair, justice A V Ramakrishna Pillai ordered that status quo should be maintained regarding utilization of paddy fields until the court disposes the petitions.
Utilizing section 133 of Criminal Procedure Code, which gives district magistrates the power to prevent nuisance or unlawful obstruction, the collector had asked paddy field owners not to engage in shrimp farming. The order was issued after local residents objected to shrimp farming in around 1,000 acres of land extending from Thuravur to Ezhupunna. The residents raised objections citing lack of availability of fresh water due to storage of salt water for shrimp farming in paddy fields. The protestors had also alleged that damages were sustained to their houses as salt water gets absorbed by bricks, leading to collapse of houses.
Earlier, the district administration had asked the paddy field owners to engage in paddy cultivation and shrimp farming alternately on a half-yearly basis. A final order preventing shrimp farming was issued after the earlier order was allegedly violated by owners of paddy fields.