Protect coastal environment

The pre-draft Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 2010, published recently by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for public comments, is a welcome improvement over the existing one. In the last two decades, India's 7,500-km long, ecologically sensitive coastal region has become more vulnerable because of unbridled development and the failure of the current CRZ notification (amended 25 times so far) to regulate it. An attempt made in 2008 to replace the existing rules with an ill-conceived regulatory framework faced stiff public opposition and was dropped following the recommendations of the expert committee chaired by Dr. M.S. Swaminathan. The rules now proposed seek to build on the codes in force. This proposal provides the much-needed expansion of coastal zone categories by increasing their number from three to five. It offers more clarity on the zoning of the coastal areas by giving specific details on how to map them and also includes the seaward side of the coast for protection. It makes it mandatory for the State governments to come up with a time-bound management plan and addresses the specific issues of coast-oriented States such as Kerala and Goa. Further to its credit, it conscientiously avoids back-door regularisation of illegal constructions by restoring 1991 as the cut-off year as earlier mooted, and not opting for 2008.

However, some of the serious deficiencies in the existing notification have not been adequately addressed and new uncertainties have crept in. For instance, multiple setback lines are proposed to regulate development. In addition to demarcating the High Tide Line (HTL), a ‘Hazard Line' — a diluted version of the vulnerability mapping that was proposed and dropped in 2008 — is recommended. The simultaneous presence of two setback lines will surely impede their implementation; and disputes as to which should take precedence will hamper their operation. Another point of contention is that while the proposed draft rules allow Special Economic Zones in the no-development zone of the CRZ III, they are silent on the fishermen's demand to allow their settlements within the same region and prohibit their demolition. They also set a worrying precedent by allowing the Navi Mumbai greenfield airport in the CRZ I, a no-development area that includes 150 hectares of mangroves and 340 hectares of coastal marshy land. This might pave the way for similar demands in other ecologically sensitive areas. A much-improved but less irksome regulation combined with capacity-building efforts at the State and local levels is necessary to ensure better enforcement and sustained development of the coastal region.