Oherald: Panaji: Friday, June 24,
2016.
In a bid to
boost development in coastal areas and protect traditional communities like
fishermen, the Central government
constituted six-member committee on Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) has proposed
that the ‘no development buffer zone’ (NDZ) be limited up to 50 meters from the
High Tide Line (HTL) for densely populated areas. The NDZ currently extends to
200 meters.
However, the
recommendations, under consideration of the Union Ministry for Environment
Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), if imposed could prove disastrous to Goa’s
coastal ecology, which is already reeling under tremendous pressure.
Granting the
relaxation to traditional inhabitants, wanting to take up housing or commercial
development, the Committee has recommended that such activities be granted
permissions for economic development of the community. The Committee has opined
that MoEFCC should restrict itself to policy making in the area of coastal
management and monitoring of activities, while vesting powers to the State
authorities to tackle the concerns of the people.
MoEFCC had in
June 2014 appointed Dr Shailesh Nayak (former secretary of Ministry of Earth
Science) to study the necessary changes that could be made to the CRZ
notification 2011, following dissatisfaction expressed by various State
governments with regard to CRZ limitations. The report submitted in January
2015, was kept under wraps by the Union Ministry.
The ministry
released the report after an order from the Information Commissioner last month
stating the ministry cannot deny the report under the Right to Information
(RTI), Act.
“The move to
reduce the NDZ from 200 meters to 50 meters could prove deterrent to coastal
ecology. It is like you can now construct anything right on the shore,” a
senior official from the State Environment Department said, stating that ‘even
in 200 meters of NDZ, environment is widely damaged’.
The report
has divided areas as densely populated rural areas and rural areas, and imposes
lesser regulation for the former through the reduction of the NDZ to 50 metres
and 200 meters of the high tide line for others.
“The
committee has dealt seriously on the State demand to protect the interests of
traditional fishing communities, by proposing that such communities need to be
provided adequate opportunities for economic development,” the official said.
“Most of the
traditional coastal communities, who live on the resources from the coastal
areas, especially fishing, need to be provided with adequate opportunity for
economic development. The local communities should be provided with an
opportunity to take up tourism, artisanal fisheries such as traditional
aquaculture and ornamental fish culture, in such ecosystem areas for their
economic improvement,” the report has stated.
The coastal
regulations were last amended in 2011 but several States pointed out that this
hampered development in the coastal areas. The committee found that the
regulations, especially with regard to construction, have affected housing,
slum redevelopment, redevelopment of dilapidated structures and other dangerous
buildings.