Upcoming Kerala stadium faces environment probe

India's environment ministry has ordered an investigation into the building of an international cricket stadium by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). Citing violations of coastal protection laws, the ministry sent an order on December 21 to the Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority instructing it to put a halt to all construction activity, take appropriate action under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and to submit a report within 15 days.

The ministry claims the land contains protected mangrove swamps, most of which the KCA is accused of illegally removing, as well as being part of a Ramsar site, which are wetlands of international importance designated under an agreement signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971.

The KCA has denied the area ever contained mangroves, saying it was land that was used to grow paddy. "We are not lawbreakers," KCA secretary TC Matthews, told ESPNcricinfo. "We are a law abiding association." According to Matthews, construction has not even begun on the site as the stadium is still in the process of being designed by the architects, so there is no question of putting a stop to it. They have also applied to the state government for various building permits. "We have applied to the state government for an exemption to the Wetland Act and the Land Ceiling Act because we don't want a problem at a later stage."

The KCA had acquired a 23.5 acre plot in Edakochi, a part of Ernakulum district in Kerala, to build the stadium. Its construction is widely supported by the local community, who see it as a way of attracting tourists, which in turn would boost further development. The prospects of the stadium actually coming up in Edakochi, however, appear somewhat bleak, as the Union environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, told the Indian Express last month that "we will not support a stadium coming up in that area.''