Kalpetta: The Kerala High Court has directed the Wayanad District Superintendent of Police to ensure strict compliance with the stop order dated December 18, 2024, which halted all construction activities at the ‘Boche 1000 Acres’ property owned by Boche Bhumiputra Private Limited, a company owned by businessman Boby Chemmannur at Meppadi.

The December 2024 order followed a complaint against massive construction activities at the plantation in preparation for New Year celebrations, including a DJ programme and other tourism and leisure activities.

There were repeated clashes during the New Year celebrations on the eve of January 1, 2024, when a huge crowd spilt onto the roads after finding no space inside the barricaded venue, despite having tickets for the programme. Notably, the event was organised without the required permissions and licences from authorities.

In an order issued on February 12, the division bench headed by Chief Justice Soumen Sen also instructed the SP to inquire whether, despite the stop order, any illegal land conversion or construction had taken place or was continuing in the areas covered by the directive.

The order was issued in response to a petition filed by Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi president N Badusha and Sajeevan, a native of Thrikkaipatta near Kalpetta.

The Wayanad SP is the seventh respondent in the case. Other respondents include the Member Secretary of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority and the Secretary of the Meppadi Village Panchayat.

The court further directed the SP to take immediate action against offenders if the enquiry reveals any violation of the stop order.

Welcoming the High Court’s decision, WPSS president N Badusha said in a press statement that such judicial interventions would help protect the region’s ecosystem, which is facing serious threats from unrestrained destruction in the name of development.

The Government Pleader also informed the court that the Wayanad police had registered criminal cases in connection with illegal activities linked to the New Year celebrations held at the plantation earlier.

In December 2024, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) issued the stop order following petitions from two senior citizens living near ‘Boche 1000 Acres’. They had raised concerns over preparations for the international DJ programme, ‘Sunburn Festival @ Boche 1000 Acres’, scheduled for New Year’s Eve 2025, alleging damage to the fragile ecosystem.

The High Court had also expressed concern over the conduct of the music festival near the Mundakkai–Chooralmala villages, where more than 300 people were killed in a devastating landslide in the early hours of July 31, 2024.

The HC will consider the case again on February 26.