Livemint: New Delhi: Friday, May 26, 2017.
The
environment ministry is planning to revamp India’s coastal regulation norms, a
move that could open up India’s 7,500km-long coastline for developmental
activities.
Environmentalists
say that the proposed norms would have serious implications for the marine
environment and are weaker compared with the current Coastal Regulation Zone
(CRZ) notification, 2011.
The draft of
the new coastal norms, accessed by environmentalists using the right to
information (RTI) law, reveals that it would open the coastline for activities
such as tourism and real estate.
The draft
Marine and Coastal Regulation Zone (MCRZ) notification 2017 was accessed by
Meenakshi Kapoor, who works at the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy
Research, using the RTI Act 2005, on Tuesday. Kapoor criticized the environment
ministry for not releasing the draft to the public for wider consultations.
“Since 2014,
the entire process of reviewing and revising the CRZ notification, 2011 has
been a closed-door exercise, she said.
“Instead of
the environment ministry inviting suggestions and feedback from coastal
communities, researchers, urban planners and legal experts on the
implementation of the CRZ Notification and proposals for reform, there has been
a reluctance to share the details of this review.”
The draft,
reviewed by Mint, is currently under inter-ministerial consultation.
An
environment ministry official, requesting anonymity, said the draft is expected
to be finalized soon. The draft has already been discussed with the Union
ministries of tourism, shipping and urban development.
“Once views
of the ministries are included, it would be put online for views and
suggestions from all stakeholders including public and experts,” the official
said.
An analysis
of the draft reveals that it proposes to shrink the no-development zone in
rural coastal areas from 200m from the high tide line now to merely 50m, where
temporary tourism facilities will be permitted.
The draft
proposes to also allow temporary tourism facilities in ecologically sensitive
areas.
The proposed
notification also states that state and Union territory governments are to
prepare tourism plans for their respective MCRZ areas.
According to
the draft, housing and basic infrastructure for local inhabitants will also be
allowed after 50m from the high tide line in rural areas, compared with the
2011 notification which permitted houses for coastal communities after 100m.
The draft
also proposes to reduce the coastal protection zone for islands from the
present 500m from the high tide line to just 20m.
The proposed
draft also proposes to give powers to state authorities to decide the extent of
developmental activities.
The draft,
however, clarifies that activities related to Defence Research and Development
Organization, Indian Space Research Organisation, exploration and extraction of
oil and natural gas and extraction of minerals will continue to require
clearances from the environment ministry.
India’s first
CRZ notification was issued in 1991, under the Environment Protection Act,
1986, empowering the central government to restrict industrial activities and
processes to protect the coastline. It was amended 25 times before being
comprehensively revised in 2011.
In June 2014,
the National Democratic Alliance government constituted a committee under
Shailesh Nayak, then secretary in the ministry of earth sciences, to look into
issues raised by states regarding the 2011 CRZ notification. In January 2015,
the Nayak panel submitted the report. That report has also not been made
public by the ministry.