Over the years, Gujarat has been an attractive tourist destination, thanks to the pull of heritage cities like Ahmedabad, step-wells like Rani Ki Vav, and eye-catching ports. However, the Gujarat Tourism Department has been flouting rules, bringing the sector into disrepute. It has built a resort in a restricted region in Mandvi. Vibes of India understands the resort has been constructed in a No Development Zone (NDZ). The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has already raised objections in its report.
The report highlights that three resorts have been built in the seashore of Mandvi in Kutch without environmental clearance. In December 2019, the district-level committee, following complaints against the three resorts, conducted a site inspection and found that all three resorts were built without the approval of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).
According to the CRZ rules, no construction can be done within 200 metres of the High Tide Line (HTL). One of the three resorts belongs to the Government of Gujarat’s Tourism Corporation.
On July 9, 2013, Gujarat Migration Corporation Limited applied for the approval of the Coastal Regulation Zone for the development of a beach resort in Mandvi. This clearance was recommended to the Ministry of Environment on January 29, 2014. In March 2015, the Ministry of Environment gave the clearance.
However, when audit officers headed by the District Collector conducted a site inspection in October 2020, shocking facts came to the fore. Another resort had been functioning 500 meters to the west of the proposed project. Satellite images revealed that the second project started after April 2017, a blatant disregard for rules.
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