GIDA authorised to develop Queen’s Walkway in Kochi, says High Court

The court observed that GIDA was constituted to implement the Vypeen bridges project, including the reclamation of 25 hectares at Marine Drive, which now includes Queen’s Walkway.  File photo | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

The Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) is authorised to develop the Goshree-Chathiyath road and Queen’s Walkway in Kochi, the Kerala High Court has said.

The Division Bench of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and A.K. Preetha held that GIDA putting up kiosks, in a manner approved by the Bench, would not infringe any fundamental right of pedestrians.

The Division Bench thus set aside a Single Bench decision that the construction of commercial kiosks on Queen’s Walkway would affect pedestrians’ rights guaranteed under the Constitution. The Division Bench also set aside the Single Bench’s finding that the land fell under the jurisdiction of the Kochi Corporation and not GIDA.