New Delhi, July 11: Concerned over slapping of demolition notices on over 100 houses in Lakshadweep, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed today met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and demanded that the limit of the No Development Zone (NDZ) restricting construction be reduced to five metres from 50 metres at present. "The Prime Minister said something would be done. He gave an impression that he would look into the demand sympathetically," Sayeed told reporters here. Sayeed, who was accompanied by Kallikagothi Moosa Manikfan, President of Lakshadweep territorial Congress committee during his meeting with Vajpayee, said they made a strong plea to make an exception in the case of Lakshadweep in view of its inalienable geographical limitation and surroundings. They handed over a memorandum containing a representation signed by over 2000 residents of the island to the Prime Minister demanding that the NDZ limit be reduced to five metres only.

He said the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), which came into force in 1997, was being implemented only now and one dwelling unit has already been razed to the ground. Sayeed said Lakshadweep islands had the highest density of population of 2,330 per sq km and a large number of people had their land holdings only in the NDZ. At some places, the islands were only 25 metres to 50 metres wide, making the implementation of CRZ very difficult, he added.
Bureau Report