G
oa among all states in India leads in the number of violations of coastal zone regulations, which were as high as 1,878 in the past five years, the environment ministry has informed the Rajya Sabha.
Goa among all states in India leads in the number of violations of coastal zone regulations, which were as high as 1,878 in the past five years, the environment ministry has informed the Rajya Sabha.
“About 1,878 cases of violation of the CRZ (coastal regulation zone) notifications have been reported during the last five years and action has been taken accordingly,” junior environment minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said in Parliament on February 2 in response to a query raised by YSR Congress parliamentarian S Niranjan Reddy.
Goa reported 974 violations in the past give years, followed by 556 in Maharashtra, 101 in Karnataka and 84 in Tamil Nadu, among other coastal states, the minister said.
Coastal zones are defined as an interface between land and the sea that comprises coastal land, intertidal area, and coastal ecosystems including rivers, estuaries, marshes, wetlands and beaches. India has a coastline of about 7516 km. The CRZ notification classifies coastal areas into different zones to manage developmental activities in an integrated manner.
There has been institutional lapses in this regard as well, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The environment ministry has not notified the national coastal zone management authority as a permanent body with recommended members, the government’s auditor said in a report tabled in Parliament in August 2022.
Instances were also found where expert appraisal committees granted environmental clearances despite the absence of domain experts during the project deliberations, the performance audit said. Activities forming a part of the mitigation plans like mangrove conservation and replantation, biodiversity conservation plan, rainwater harvesting plan failed to be included in the environment management plan in many cases, the statutory watchdog reported.
Coastal zone management authorities, both at the national and state levels, must share details fo their deliberations with the public in a uniform manner, the auditor recommended. The environment ministry also must ensure that project proponents submit a viable environment management plan, addressing all the risks to the environment, the CAG said. Such plans with impact prediction analyses should be coherent and mitigation measures should be clearly spelled out, along with the costs involved, it suggested.
The environment ministry issued a notification on November 24, allowing temporary shacks and structures on the beach during non-monsoon months and manual removal of sandbars in intertidal areas abutting the coast. The notification consolidates and reconciles changes made in coastal regulation zone laws over the years, made with an eye on boosting tourism, though environmentalists said it was important to understand the impact of projects on these areas, among the most fragile environmentally, and especially in the context of the climate crisis.
The notification also delegated the responsibility of approving some projects in coastal areas considered most critical from an environmental perspective and areas with seawater to the state coastal zone management authorities. These projects include stand-alone jetties, salt works, slipways, temporary structures, and erosion control measures.
“In a climate stressed world, coastal areas are considered to be one of the most vulnerable geographies. This makes it even more critical for countries like India to use regulatory frameworks like the CRZ to map vulnerabilities and carefully examine the extent to which coastal lands and marine areas can be stretched,” said Kanchi Kohli, legal researcher at the Centre for Policy Research, a think tank. “In doing so, the a precautionary approach should not be an option, but as an essential tenet of coastal planning.”
Major infrastructure projects have been planned in the ecologically fragile Great Nicobar island, HT reported on November 28, 2022. The central government on November 11 granted environmental clearance to an international container transhipment terminal, a 450 MVA gas and solar power plant, an airport and associated townships over 166.1 sq. km in Great Nicobar, according to documents seen by HT.
The project will involve diversion of around 130.75 sq. km of forests in three phases. The forest loss is likely to be compensated for by the project proponent by taking up compensatory afforestation in Haryana’s Aravallis and in Madhya Pradesh, if required. (source HT)
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