Karnataka High Court on Wednesday admitted a public interest litigation against setting up of an industry for manufacturing fish food products on certain lands, allegedly coming under the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) area between Udyavar River and Arabian Sea.

The petition filed by Kirankumar Udyavar, a resident of Pithradi, Udyavara, Udupi district stated that M/s Yashaswini Fish Meal and Fish Oil Company was laying foundation for an industry to manufacture and sell fish food products in an area falling within 100 metres of Udyavara river and within 500 metres of Arabian Sea.
This falls under CRZ created for protecting coastal areas, giving way for environmental pollution and ecological hazards it said.

Mr Kirankumar has said that Udupi-Malpe Planning Authority (UMPA) had given an endorsement saying that concerned land fell beyond 101 metres from High Tide Line of Udyavar River, while being silent about its distance from the sea. Based on this, Regional Director (Environmental), CRZ, Udupi has given permission to convert the land for the company’s use, while Udupi Tahsildar and Udyavar Gram Panchayat have sanctioned building construction.

The company proposes to install two 500 KVA diesel generators and has started construction by drawing a pipe directly to Udyavar river without setting up a water treatment plant, he has stated.

The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice B S Patil admitted the petition while ordering notices to State government, Regional Director of Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) at Udupi, UMPA, State Pollution Control Board, Udupi DC, Tahsildar and Udyavar Gram Panchayat.

Permission
The High Court on Wednesday permitted an NRI student admitted to a city engineering college to take up ongoing first semester BE examinations, whose admission has not been approved by Visveswaraya Technological University (VTU).

The petition by Asim Azad Karbelkar challenged VTU’s action in not approving his admission to BE course in Bangalore Institute of Technology, contending that VTU had wrongly held him, ineligible for admission.
While his grades obtained in the PU equivalent course completed in a foreign institute amounts to 68 per cent marks, VTU has held him ineligible on the ground of not obtaining 50 per cent minimum requisite marks in optional subjects, he said.

While passing an interim order, the Court directed VTU to permit the student to take up examinations that have started from Dec 31. It, however, ordered that his results shall not be announced, pending disposal of the petition.In another petition, Krishnendu Halder, a native of West Bengal, admitted to BE course in Sir M Visveswarya Instutute of Technology, Bangalore challenged VTU’s order denying permission for taking up first semester examinations and directing his discharge.

The student challenged the legal validity of VTU’s communications on Dec 7 and Dec 27, 2007 which had held him ineligible for the course on the ground that he had not secured minimum requisite marks in optional subjects.
He said he had secured 44 per cent marks in optional subjects and was eligible for admission to BE as per AICTE regulations that provide relaxation of minimum marks upto 40 per cent for students belonging to SC category.
He sought to declare the February 2006 State government order that holds out of State SC students ineligible for such relaxation, as illegal.

The Court granted an interim order directing VTU to permit the student to write first semester exams that have started from December  31, 2007.