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Residents rise against 10-storey apartment complex in Etul Kotte
Twenty-six residents of Etul Kotte have filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeal opposing the proposed “unlawful” construction of a ten-storey apartment complex that they say will increase the threat of severe flooding in their area.
They also maintain that the developer, Home Lands Holding (Pvt) Ltd, is seeking to build the 45-unit complex on a marshland covered with “wel aththa” (pond apple) trees and “habarala” which is home to a large number of diverse fauna in the form of birds, animals, reptiles, fish, amphibians and insects. The area is approximately 70 perches in extent.
The action by residents and property owners of Morris Rajapakshe Mawatha, Kotte Road and 6th Lane is the latest in a string of litigations against mushrooming condominiums in Colombo. The respondents in this case are from the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC), Urban Development (UDA), Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Municipal Council, Central Environmental Authority (CEA), Department of Archaeology, the Condominium Management Authority (CMA) and Home Land Holdings. Several other residents of Etul Kotte are also cited.
The petitioners submit that their area, a low-lying land adjacent to a tributary of the Diyawanna Oya, goes under water almost yearly during the rainy season. They plead imminent, grave and serious threat of danger posed to their lives and properties “by the unlawful and dangerous construction” of the apartment complex. This threat is enhanced due to “the illegal and unlawful drainage plans” obtained for the development.
The marsh on which the building is to be erected has, up to now, served as a wetland, retaining rain and storm water and mitigating or somewhat reducing flooding.
“It is vital to ensure that the purported approvals for the said development were granted by all State agencies in consideration of the existing severe flooding problem in the area and without causing nuisance to those living in or owning properties in close vicinity,” the 62-page petition states.
The proposed construction will also obstruct the natural lighting as well as flow of air and ventilation to the petitioners’ residences. The petitioners hold that, within the confines of the lane in which all their houses are situated, the complex will cause “very severe” traffic congestion.
Furthermore, it is structurally unsound and infirm and appreciably compromised given, among other things, that the apartment is to be erected on what was marshland. And the heavy machinery and piling used for the proposed construction would have severe impact on the properties of the petitioners.
The residents and property owners cite an international study titled “Floods and Countermeasures Impact Assessment for the Metro Colombo Canal System, Sri Lanka” as stating that the common reasons for urban flooding are lack of drainage facilities; inadequate openings; inadequate water storage; intense rainfall; encroachment and blocking in the drainage system; and backwater effect at outfalls.
The primary reasons for recent floods are increased surface runoff due to urbanization; diminishing of retention areas; growing trend for rainfall intensity; and inadequate conveyance capacities of canals, structures and outfalls.
Morris Rajapakshe Mawatha has neither a drainage system nor a systematic manner for storm or rain water to be drained out. Over the years, therefore, excess water naturally flowed onto the marsh on which the developer now hopes to build.
The aggrieved parties have highlighted several issues such as a failure of the CEA to consider environment conditions of the land in issue; failure by the UDA and Municipal council to stipulate the mandatory requirements for a sewer treatment plan; absence of a traffic impact assessment; permission to construct a drain across Morris Rajapakshe Mawatha without consent of petitioners, etc.
The petition also points to the broader issue of “unauthorised and illegal” construction of condominiums in Colombo and the need to regulate the building of apartments. In the recent past, it states, the lands in and around the Colombo area are being inundated with high rise buildings with apartment complexes of various magnitude mushrooming all over Colombo District. Inadequate laws to regulate, monitor and control this booming industry have posed severe threats to the safety and welfare of the general public.
The lack of monitoring by the authorities and their failure to compel developers to adhere to existing laws and regulations pertaining to building construction has resulted in many unauthorised and irregular structures being built in callous disregard of applicable regulations.
The petitioners request Court, among other things, to grant and issue mandates in the nature of writs of Certiorari, quashing several “purported illegal, unlawful, ultra vires, arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, unfair and irrational” decisions, approvals, clearances, permits, conditions, licences and recommendations issued in respect of the project. They also seek writs of Prohibition against the granting or issuing of any development plan or development permit or other final development permission or clearance to Home Lands.