Hyderabad:The debate on the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) is once again back in the mainstream media. In September 2019, it was the demolition of illegal constructions along Kerala’s coastline that brought it to the newsrooms and now it is the Maharashtra elections. On 14th October 2019, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Mr Devendra Fadnavis, announced several projects, as the State goes for assembly polls on 21 st October 2019.
Among all the announcements, what became controversial and the topic of debate was his announcement to open up Mumbai’s ecologically sensitive salt pans for the development of low-cost housing, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). If the proposal is put into action, it is expected that out of the total of 5,300 acres, 1,781 acres of salt pans spread across the length and breadth of Mumbai will be opened up for development.
However, his political ally ‘Shiv Sena’Party is against this proposal and even the environmentalists are worried that, to open up the salt pans could potentially damage the ecology of that particular region and suggests that this proposal violates the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) provisions.
The political and economic motives and their implications of this proposal are subject to debate and it is altogether a different issue. What is more important is that it once again brought the most pertinent but less discussed subject of Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ) to the forefront. It becomes even more important as the 226th meeting of the expert appraisal committee for the projects related to Coastal Regulation Zone is going to be held on 23 rd October 2019. It is in this backdrop one need to understand the Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ), and the issues and concerns related to it.
CRZ at a Glance:
Nearly 171 million people are living in India’s coastal districts, which is equivalent to 14 per cent of the country’s population. On the other hand, in the last two decades, 45 per cent of India’s coast has been lost due to erosion, and the natural disasters along the coast have cost the country $80 billion. Given the scale of the population residing in India’s coastline and the magnitude of the problem that we have at hand today, it is pertinent to regulate the economic and ecological activity along our coastlines, which necessitates Coastal Regulation Zones.
The CRZ Rules govern human and industrial activity close to the coastline, to protect the fragile ecosystems near the sea. They are mandated under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, were first framed in 1991 and sought to restrict the activities, setting up new industries, large constructions, mining, storage or disposal of hazardous material, within a certain distance from the coastline. According to these rules, the regulation zone has been defined as the area up to 500 m from the high-tide line. Depending upon various criteria like area’s population, distance from the shore, ecological sensitivity and if that particular area had been designated as a natural park or wildlife zone, restrictions will be applied.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on January 18, 2019, notified the 2019 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, replacing the existing CRZ norms of 2011.The new CRZ norms, issued under Section 3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, aims to promote sustainable development based on scientific principles taking into account the natural hazards such as increasing sea levels due to global warming. The norms also seek to conserve and protect the environment of coastal stretches and marine areas, besides livelihood security to the fisher communities and other local communities in the coastal area.
Issues and Concerns:
While the new CRZ rules replaces the old ones, there are certain areas of concern, which need to be taken into consideration, by the policymakers, to make the implementation of these norms more inclusive and make them achieve their objectives. In the latest regulations, the CRZ- III (Rural) areas category has been divided into, two separate categories namely, CRZ-III A and CRZ-III B. CRZ-III A category of CRZ- III areas are densely populated rural areas with a population density of 2161 per square kilometre as per 2011 Census.
Such areas have a No Development Zone (NDZ) of 50 meters from the High Tide Line (HTL) as against 200 meters from the High Tide Line stipulated in the CRZ Notification, 2011. On the other hand, the CRZ-III B category of CRZ-III rural areas have a population density of below 2161 per square kilometre as per 2011 Census. Such areas have a No Development Zone of 200 meters from the HTL.
In this context, it is to be noted that allowing the inhabitants to live 50 meters away from the coastline could expose them to the dangers of natural calamities. Thus efforts need to be in place to ensure their safety and it is to be ensured that the safety standards are strictly adhered to.
The second issue is about CRZ-IV. This includes the shallow belt of coastal waters extending up to 12 nautical miles. It is a crucial fishing zone for small fishers. The latest CRZ allows land reclamation for setting up of harbours, ports, and roads, facilities for discharging treated effluents, transfer of hazardous substances, and construction of memorials or monuments, which could affect the fishing activity. In this context, it is pertinent to note that there are nearly12 million people in India, who are dependent on fishing for their livelihood. Given the huge scale of the population being affected by these regulations, there is a need to consider the impact of the new regulations on the lives and livelihoods of the local communities and make alternate arrangements for them to compensate for the means of living they will be losing, due to the implementation of these regulations.
In addition to this, there is a need to have a strict vigilance and supervision mechanism in place to control the pollution due to increased offshore activities, as the area falling under CRZ-IV category is largely impacted by increased human and industrial activity. The third issue is that the new CRZ regulations allow eco-tourism activities such as mangrove walks, tree huts, nature trails, etc. in eco-sensitive areas demarcated as CRZ-IA.
While it increases the employment opportunities and add to the revenue generation, it is also important to ensure that there is an institutional mechanism in place to oversee, regulated and streamline these activities in a scientific way, in order to safeguard the ecologically sensitive areas like coral reefs and mangroves and sand dunes along India’s coastlines. Last but not least, is the need for a cooperative federal spirit between the Centre and the States. It is because the CRZ Rules are made by the Union Environment Ministry. However, their implementation is supposed to be done by state governments through their Coastal Zone Management Authorities. Hence, the states are also supposed to frame their own coastal zone management plans in accordance with the central Rules.
This necessitates a greater degree of coordination and cooperation between the Centre and the States, keeping aside the political rhetoric and interests. They need to work in tandem to realize the greater objective of achieving a safer, cleaner and richer coastline for India. It is in this backdrop, it is to be remembered that economic development always comes at a price. What matters is the answering the question, to what extent we can sacrifice ecological balance to achieve economic well-being. The more balanced it is, the more sustainable, the development will be.
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