HC asks Collector to decide on expediting placing of geobags along Chellanam coast

Kerala High Court orders expedited placement of geobags to prevent sea erosion in Chellanam, urging immediate action.

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday (June 10) directed the Ernakulam District Collector to convene a meeting of officials of the Irrigation department and the Chellanam panchayat and take a decision on expediting the placing of geobags along the Chellanam coast to prevent sea erosion.

The Bench issued the order on two writ petitions filed by a few residents of Chellanam.

When the petitions were taken up for hearing, the government pleader submitted that the placing of geobags had started last Saturday (June 7, 2025). The contractor who had submitted the lowest bid tender had been asked to commence the work pending finalisation of the tender in view of the urgent need for completing the work.

The court noted that the estimate showed that it would take four months to complete the placing of geobags. Besides, it is not clear how the contractor will carry out the work during the monsoon, whether manually or with the aid of machines. It was clear that if the present state of affairs continued, no immediate short-term measures such as the placement of geobags could be taken. “Let the District Collector look into short-term measures and the placement of geobags on an immediate basis and how the disaster management authority can expedite the work,” the court observed.

The counsel for Chellanam panchayat submitted that if the contractor, with the current resources, started work this month, it would take seven months to complete the entire work. Therefore, urgent measures should be taken to deploy more machinery. Several houses were inundated due to a lack of protection against sea erosion. The geobags placed earlier in areas such as Cherivakadavu and Kattiparamabu were washed away in sea erosion from May 24 to 30. During these days, around 500 houses were repeatedly inundated, and approximately 25 houses suffered partial damage. Therefore, there is an urgent need to place geobags in more areas.